Sophia's Children

Flowing in Piscean Waters

I've been feeling very dreamy these days, and even more empathic than ever, if that's even possible.

And I haven't felt like doing a whole lot -- a sort of blasphemy in a culture shaped by the 'Puritan work ethic', in which 'idol hands breed the Devil's work'.

There was a time in my life, not so long ago, where I wouldn't have admitted that, because I would have thought it was 'work ethic' heresy, too.

I've since come a bit more (okay, a lot more) to my senses.

Welcome to Pisces Territory, where we're introduced to a more right-brain, Feminine mode of being and doing.

My initiation into this deeply flowing, creative, nonlinear, intuitive, compassionate energy came with Neptune's long transit through Aquarius (1998-2012), and particularly when it was joined by Uranus transit through Pisces (2003-2011).

I had to laugh when I read Paola Emma's delicious blog entry on the Pisces New Moon (2/21/12) and Neptune transits.

Paola, creatrix of Living New Moon Astrology, describes the Neptune transit and the influx of Pisces influence perfectly.

The part that applied to my own experience over these years?

"On the other hand, if you are mainly a practical person, busy with your family and career, goal oriented and used to getting your own way,  you could find Neptune and Pisces’ transits a somewhat bewildering experience, bringing you out of your comfort zone, in strange and foggy back alleys...," Paolo writes.

That was me, to a tee. It's only recently that I can laugh about it.

With the Sun, Moon, Neptune, and Chiron joining forces in Pisces on the new moon, we were all truly awash in Piscean waters.

Given that Mars -- the archetype of active, aggressive yang energy -- is retrograde (chillin') in Virgo, another Feminine sign, this new moon was a wide-open channel of Feminine energies.

Needless to say, that's enough to give worshippers of the Protestant Work Ethic and left-brain zealots a real fit. (After all, great efforts have been made to minimize, marginalize, and repress it.)

One fellow, an astrologer, expressed his frustration that he didn't feel as motivated to do, do, do. Given that he is an astrologer, he understood that there's a valuable lesson in that, but still wasn't at all comfortable with it. I get it, I really do.

With Pisces and Neptune, what we hid away in the pigeon-hole of the long under-appreciated right brain is activated big time:

Heart rather than head, compassion and empathy rather than an epidemic sociopathy, flow over force, intuition balancing intellect, surrender rather than perpetual resistance, and creativity instead of logical process, connection over disconnect.

What I love about Neptune and Pisces influence is that they open the doors of different ways of knowing, rid us of our false sense of separation, and render our belief in a fundamentalist 'self sufficiency' and Lone Ranger 'tude for what they are: illusions.

We all -- every one of us -- rely on others, and on this Earth.

And I say this as someone who was, for a very long time, all about the work. I was a real believer that I was self-sufficient (and taught to believe that was the ideal).

Needless to say, that false notion has since been dissolved with the waters of Neptune and Pisces.

These energies and influences soften and dissolve the calcified places in us, and the false borders and beliefs we've erected (or inherited), just like water flowing or dripping over stones patiently, yet relentlously, erodes the sharp edges.

With Chiron in Pisces, too, until 2018, the great Wounded Healer of myth brings the healing of Piscean waters to a planet, culture, and people that have been pretty battered.

A generous dose of Pisces influence will be delivered to us for the coming years by Neptune and Chiron, giving us the opportunity for compassionate connection, healing of spirit, a renewed awareness of our creative wellspring, grace, trust, faith, and a whole new empathy and sensitivity (which might be a real challenge for quite a few people, making energy management imperative).

There is a shadow side to be mindful of with these energies and archetypes, too: unhealthy boundaries, hyper-sensitivity (taking in too much of others' energy and gunk), depression, fear, dark nights of the soul (which was also called 'the night sea journey' ), and the numbing of the intense feeling through addictions, to name a few.

I experienced a few of these, too, during my Neptunian-Piscean initiation.

Even so, it's important to remember that these are initiating us into something that's been lost and is needed again -- something we've missed to the depths of our heart and soul.

Particularly with all that's changing in the world, in long-mighty institutions and systems, and in our own lives where 'the old paradigm' has rooted -- and is being rooted out where it's no longer healthy: the heartfulness, expanded awareness, and spiritual healing of Pisces is a soothing balm.

It's message (or one of them)?

Allow old, calcified beliefs and unnecessary baggage to wash away. Take a spiritual perspective, sourced from the heart and a sense that none of us are bobbing around on the planet alone. We're all connected, and we're connected to something even greater.

Love,

Jamie

Image Credits: Moon Mum, from Paola Emma's blog entry (link above); Greenwater Strip (from SpaceWeather.com's aurora gallery); Water Reflection, from Eddie Van W. (Creative Commons)

Imbolc, Brigid, and Neptune

Happy Imbolc!

Today at 2:22 EST the Sun crossed 15 degrees of Aquarius, the way the Ancients measured the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. They celebrated this time as Imbolc.

To our indigenous European ancestors, it marked the promise of Spring in the midst of the cold, dark, seemingly fallow Winter, and was associated with the Goddess Brigid.

So here we are, in early February, in 2012.

Can we in all of our high-tech modernity connect still with this Divine Spark that promises new greening in the Spring?

And is it any wonder, then, that springs were considered among 'Brigid's places'. She was, and is, a goddess of fire and water.

I've written of Imbolc and the Goddess Brigid before in Brigid's Wild Bounty and other Imbolc-Candlemas blog entries. But I'm called to share a few of Her sparks here, too, because She inspires me to.

I feel a special connection with Brigid, because I was born during Brigid's time of Imbolc and Candlemas.

For the longest time, that connection felt paved over, like something hidden away in a basement wall, covered with brick and mortar to keep others from finding it.

I had to chip away to allow the earlier wisdom of my ancestors to speak to me again.

The bricks were the beliefs passed along by the Patriarchs, guiding us away from our indigenous spiritual traditions and their connections to God/dess and nature.

The mortar was fear, because that's what such an unnatural system requires to keep its hold.

But mortar ultimately crumbles and falls away, freeing what it once held in place.

As the light shines through the cracked mortar, we become strong at the broken places.

So it is with our ancient spiritual inheritance and the indigenous wisdom of our ancestors that was celebrated at times such as these. Our ancestors call us to remember such wisdom now.

Brigid is considered a goddess of inspiration. Like her Hindu counterpart Saraswati, her inspiration sparked the words of poets and bards, and led artists to a high level of craftsmanship.

Brigid also contains the fire of Durga-Kali in the Hindu tradition, inspiring not just poetic artistry, but a fierceness as well, and the complete transformation of energies from one form to another.

Her elements -- fire and water -- are symbols that offer us rich guidance. Together they create a third element, and are both necessary to the fecundity of earth.

When we immerse ourselves in these stories, elements, and symbols, that ancient knowing and wisdom stirs itself awake within us. We feel a greater depth and grounding, joy and creativity, and with these, fear begins to loosen its hold.

And now, at Imbolc-Candlemas 2012, we have the added energy of Neptune coming home to Pisces after 14 years of expressing itself Aquarian style.

These archetypal energies are vastly different, so we will feel the shift eventually, if not immediately. As ever, we benefit from working consciously with these forces, to the degree we can, rather than feel tossed around like a tiny little ship in a perfect storm.

Our ancient ancestors used ritual and seasonal festivals, amongst other things, to feel more connected, guided, and 'in the right place.'

An Imbolc Neptune shift raises once again the qualities of the re-emerging Feminine, and the qualities of Brigid, Neptune and Pisces -- wisdom, imagination, dream, Divine love, inspiration, interrelatedness, inspired transformation, and more.

So place a small bowl of water next to your candle on your altar in honor of Brigid -- one 'face' of the Great Mother -- and to call into your being and your life the wisdom, inspiration, creativity, fluidity, and heart-fullness that will bring the 'new greening' of Spring.

Lots of Love,

Jamie

Connect with these energies & your Ancestral Wisdom through the Feminine Mojo Mystery School and upcoming telecourses and programs.

Image Credits: Artist Unknown (for this beautiful image) - attributed to Olds Kool Si. Stained glass window featuring Brigid, location unknown. I'll continue to search.

The Energies of Now & 'Psychic Vampires'

Tending your energy and vibration is becoming more and more important; one of the highest priorities.

You can't really talk about cultivating and managing your energy without talking, at some point, big, fat energy drains.

Identify the drains, where your energy, power & life force are leaking away, and you can begin to nix the drains and reclaim that energy.

One of the most insidious (and I'd go so far as to say harmful) energy drains comes gratis what is often called the 'psychic vampire' or 'energy vampire'.

That sounds dramatic, doesn't it?

Yet anyone who's familiar with the phenomenon and its very real effects knows that it's an important thing to know about. This is particularly true if you're an empath, energy sensitive, or 'lightworker'.

Have you ever wondered why you felt a sudden 'negative' shift in your mood, mental chatter, or energy levels when you interacted with certain people?

Or maybe you've been in a relationship with a seemingly charming someone who, over time (and with chilling constancy and often slick subtlety) "gaslighted" you: chipped away at your confidence, energy, and sense of self?

Then you might be in the zone of a 'psychic or energy vampire' (there are other possible causes for those things, too, and it's important to track the cause).

On tomorrow's Feminine Mojo Show (2/2), kindred spirit Laura Bruno will join me in exploring energy and 'psychic & energy vampires' (and a few other fun things, like intuition, synchronicity, taking your power (Mojo) back, and the magic of Life). Join us and listen in (live or via the archived episode).

If you're feeling funky or slimed energetically -- how you feel and what's chattering through your mind are two big clues -- take a look at my past blog entry on Tracking and Clearing Toxic (and 'Not You') Energies.

There are other ways to cultivate and manage your 'energy garden' as well.

My favorite practices evolve and shift based on what's 'up' now, but the most effective have been vibrational healing practices that work on several levels simultaneously -- mantra yoga, flower essences, and others that I have 'at the ready' in my 'magic backpack'.

How's your energy, and how are you navigating these Transformation Times we're in?

Love,

Jamie

You can also schedule an individual session or take a look at current and upcoming audio, teleclass, and other programs.

Image Credits: Still from the classic film Nosferatu (1922); and Bella Lugosi in Dracula (1933); Circe Individuosa by John William Waterhouse (1892)