Sophia's Children

Who's Your Muse?

From time immemorial, we have invoked the Muses, or spent our time waiting and praying for The Muse's visit.

Poets, bards, master craftsmen, magicians, and visionaries alike credited the Muses for fanning the fires of creativity and whispering the inspired words (or notes, or images) that would find their way into expression.

The Greeks told of Nine Muse Goddesses, and our ancient ancestors in other cultures and traditions told of and invoked their Muses, too.

They knew that when they invoked the Muse or other archetype, they were inviting specific energies and aspects of their own higher Selves into expression.

Each also lamented those times when the Muse seemed to be on vacation, throwing the cycle of creativity into its fallow, regenerative phase.

Who among us doesn't know the dreaded Writer's Block or creative dry spell, where inspiration seems to have gone the way of the Dodo?

And just in case you're wondering ...

You don't have to consider yourself to be a poet or musician, bard or visionary in order to allow the possibility that each of us has our Muse. You included.

In fact, each person (and perhaps animal and plant for all I know) has a unique combination of gifts, experience, and purpose that our Muses (and other inner-helpers or Spirit Allies) would inspire into expression.

Two of my Muses are Polyhymnia and Urania, the Muses of sacred sound and song (or chant-mantra, in my case) and Urania of the Stars ... astrology, astronomy and other celestial inspirations. Calliope calls for my attention, too, by stirring the poetic heart and soul into expression.

These Muses join forces with other inner-helpers and Spirit Allies to remind me of the Power of the Word and to keep me on path (which is sometimes, I'm sure, an exasperating job for them!).

So what about you? Who's your Muse ... or Muses?

There are a few ways to find out and then cultivate a more active relationship with your Muse.

• Just Ask. I know, it's insanely obvious but often overlooked when it comes to our inner-helpers and Spirit Allies, including our Muses. Call out (ask!), and then pay attention for the response. It might come in dream, meditation, or through a message your receive as you go about your day.

• Chart It.  See where the Muses show up in your astro-blueprint ... your natal chart. There are Muses assigned to specific 'inspiration gates' during the zodiac year, including one or two that govern your birth date.

• Intend and Intuit. Check out the Muses and see which one calls to you, and then invoke and work with her in a playful experiment and creative adventure.

It's the perfect time to cultivate a relationship with your Muse to help to fan the fires of renewed or fresh inspiration, intuition, and creativity -- just what we need during these shapeshifting Transformation Times.

To explore and activate your inner-guides & Spirit Allies, invoke your Muse, or to track the pattern in the Chaos of Now, join the Academy of the Divine Feminine or schedule an individual Muse Session or two with me and we'll invoke the Muse together.

On another note, I'm exploring the possibility of moving Sophia's Children to Wordpress - I'll keep you posted. To stay tuned and keep from missing new Muse Foods, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and sign on to receive The Wake-Up Juice e-newsletter.

Happy adventuring, and lots of Love in the meanwhile.

Musefully Yours,

Jamie

Image Credits: Minerva and The Muses, by Jacques Stella (1596), the Musee du Louvre; The Muses Urania and Calliope, by Simon Vouet (1634); and The Dance of Apollo with the Muses, by Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi

 

 

Intuition & Curiosity in Gemini Time

Gemini energies are growing, sparked by the new moon solar eclipse at the Zero Point in Gemini on May 20th. Expansive Jupiter will join the Sun in Gemini on June 11th, so think of the coming months as Gemini Flavored.

Even if you don't have Gemini as a more prominent flavor in your blueprint, if you communicate, peruse a variety of information, and socialize, you're in Gemini territory.

And though some people may be wired for it and excel at it, we've all got some Gemini Juice in there somewhere!

And you'll definitely be finding yourself in Gemini territory in the coming weeks and months -- think of it as a collective and individual initiation into the possibilities of Gemini.

Gemini is ruled by the archetype of Mercury, also called Hermes by the ancients. The 'Winged Messenger', Mercury-Hermes was all about the Power of the Word. or 'Word Magic'.

The same is true within and between us: Mercury-Hermes shows up in our thoughts and in our communication. With all of this Gemini Juice, we get a chance to elevate our communication in every sense of The Word.

Mercury's esoteric (soul-level) expression is Uranus, where thought is elevated into pure insight, intuition, and those 'aha' moments of creative thinking.

Gemini's esoteric ruler is Venus, infusing our communication and interaction with the Big Love, beauty, creativity, and harmony.

Put the two together and you have elevated, True-You communication and expression that sources from Divine guidance, insight, and intuition, flavored with a strong infusion of Big Love, beauty, harmony and the impulse to weave unity where we usually default to duality.

Low-grade mental chatter and thought-habit that keeps us spinning, distracted, and mired in inherited limitation gives way to the Muses of 'higher thought', 'healing thought', and how we express our inner Muses.

Two other powerful Gemini gifts are curiosity and the ability to see patterns and possibilities.

Who can't benefit from these?

Curiosity has us asking good questions where we might otherwise be making limiting statements that close off rather than invite fresh insight and possibility.

The Gemini pattern-tracker allows us to 'connect the dots' and 'follow the breadcrumbs' to see the path or pattern, versus feeling lost in a sea of data (or breadcrumbs, if you prefer) and not knowing which is important and which is 'fluff'.

Where others might say, "Well, it's not possible because it's always been this way," our inner Gemini (or Gemini-flavored person in our lives) will say, "Check out all of these amazing possibilities!"

So over the coming weeks, it's a powerful time to cultivate your Gemini gifts and your intuitive, curious, Renaissance Self by invoking the archetypes (inner helpers or Spirit Allies) of Mercury-Hermes, Uranus, Iris the Rainbow Goddess, and Venus.

[The ancients often paired the Divine Feminine and Mercury-Hermes at the temples ... the Divine Feminine within, and Mercury-Hermes just outside. Expression and 'power of the word' that's informed and elevated by inner Wisdom. See the theme?]

Play with these in the coming weeks & months ... that'd be very Gemini, too, and makes invoking our gifts and Spirit Allies all the more fun.

After all, being more playful, curious, and 'childlike' is a requisite for 'entering the Kingdom of Heaven.'

To explore and activate your inner-guides & Spirit Allies, invoke your Muse (intuition and creativity), or to track the pattern in the Chaos of Now, join the Academy of the Divine Feminine or schedule an individual Muse Session with me.

On another note, I'm exploring the possibility of moving Sophia's Children to Wordpress - I'll keep you posted. To stay tuned and keep from missing new Muse Foods, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and sign on to receive The Wake-Up Juice e-newsletter.

Happy adventuring, and lots of Love in the meanwhile.

Musefully Yours,

Jamie

Image Credits: The Jellyfish Nebula in the constellation Gemini (NASA); Mercury-Hermes from a Greek Vase, Athens (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY); Iris the Rainbow Goddess by Atkinson Grimshaw

Very Venusian - Muse Food & The Celestial Now

Don't miss the unique opportunities of this emerging Spring of Venus, seasoned with the other unique celestial events of Now.

For those of you who are answering the call (or feeling the stirrings) of the re-emerging Divine Feminine, this is a special season to tap into Goddess, World Soul, with ancestors and ancient selves whispering, "Remember, remember...".

But even if you don't feel 'into' the Sacred Feminine, Goddess or Mystic life, you can let the celestial events and their uniqueness and beauty awaken your Muse, clarify and fortify your truest values, and stoke your Courage of Conviction.

Here's a snapshot:

On (5/15/12), Venus stations retrograde in Gemini -- take a look at where this occurs in your astro natal and solar house for how this might come to life for you.

On Sunday the 20th, we have a New Moon in Gemini and a full (annular) solar eclipse at zero degrees Gemini, which adds more juice to your Venus in Gemini cocktail.

This sets the table for a more rare event: Venus crossing between the Sun and Earth. The next time this will occur is in the year 2117, so it won't happen again in this lifetime.

And let's not forget the infamous Uranus-Pluto square of mid-June as we head on into a peak solar flare CME year. Yes, we're adventuring into the Zap Zone.

It's quite a line-up over the next month or so, with strong archetypal and energetic messages for us in this time of Great Turning and collective shift. For a more detailed astro-update, see the link below.

For now, here's a feast of inspiration to help you navigate through the energies of Now.

The themes and flavors of NOW?

Venus and Gemini feature prominently, so this is your inner Venus dancing with your inner Mercury (or Hermes) for revisioning and new expression.

Read my recent blog entry on Venus in Gemini & Iris the Rainbow Goddess so you can refresh your vision as a member of the Rainbow Bridge.

Other recent entries here at Sophia's Children on the Black Madonna, Mary Magdalene, Lunar and Chiron energies add specifics to this time of bringing the medicine of the Feminine back into the world.

Igniting your Muse is another great theme of Now, and I'll be writing more about that soon.

I've been getting reacquainted and working with my Muses, Urania and Polyhymnia, for example.

The energies of now are fertile and ripe for aligning with and giving expression to the Muse of your heart and soul.

Who are your Muses? Stay tuned for more (or send me an email if you really need to connect with your Muse now).

This is a time of rich inspiration, assessing and realigning with your truest, deepest, heart-and-soul values and ways to authentically express them in the world.

And it's a time of being inspired by the beauty around you, the rich blessings of Spirit and Nature, no matter what other crazyass chaos is whirling.

And speaking of crazyass chaos whirling...

It's also a time when the energies of Now and New are a sandblasting, tornado-whirling force of destruction for all that is not truly you, and I know all too well that having your life sandblasted is ... how shall we say ... a beeyotch.

During Whirl Times, we can take inspiration from the Whirling Dervishes of the mystical Sufi tradition, who whirl as a way of connecting with the Divine.

Can we allow the stretch of consciousness and see our Personal Whirling as an opportunity to connect with the Divine -- what's truest and most vital and valuable?

If you're there now, in the Sandblast Loss Zone, I'll be posting more about this soon. In the meanwhile, find some wisdom in one of my previous ESMA posts - Strong at the Broken Places.

And if some kickass courage and Feisty Feminine juju is what you need to zap the Demons of Fake Fears, introduce yourself to the Goddesses Durga and Akhilandeshwari.

While we're being inspired and wired (or rewired) in the coming weeks, we can also soothe our frayed nerves and energies. Check out the Leisurely Taurus post here at Sophia's Children, along with Calming Remedies for Intense Energies post.

If you're feeling the need for a more dedicated checkin, send me an email and we can schedule a personal session to explore your unique situation and see what might work best for you.

And last but not least, a few tech glitches and referrals have me exploring a new home for Sophia's Children at Wordpress.

I'll keep you posted, but in the meanwhile, follow me on Twitter or Facebook and sign on for The Wake-Up Juice Newsletter to receive all of the fresh inspiration along the way.

Lots of Love in the meanwhile,

Jamie

Image Credits: Emerald Butterfly from Nature's Crusaders, the Bee Goddess Bhramari, artist unknown; and Iris the Goddess from Atkinson Grimshaw.

Connect more deeply with the re-emerging Feminine through The Academy of the Divine Feminine -- the gift of a one-on-one tele-session goes to those who join ADF now.

For details on the Astro-Flurry of the coming few weeks, take a look at one of my favorites -- Stephanie's update at Planetary Apothecary.

Chiron & Goddess: Potential for Healing

I've been pearl-diving in the metaphorical marshlands, taking a deeper look at several mondo transformation, change, and 'crossroads' archetypes.

Of course, I delight in sharing the pearls I find with you.

Today's pearl...

Each of us has our own unique menu of factors that influence our own transformation -- the agents of decontruction and renewal.

But two things we can take a look at are Chiron -- the better known archetype of the 'Wounded Healer' -- and several lesser-known and perhaps even overlooked clues like the asteroid Goddesses and where they appear in our astro-blueprints.

I'm currently at my Chiron Return -- when transiting Chiron returns to its origin in your birthchart -- and I've got the asteroid/tiny-planet Sedna, appropriately as far as I'm concerned, in my natal 12th house.

Sedna also featured prominently on May 12-13, when the conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter also conjoined Sedna in Taurus (and in my 12th house, again).

Sedna the asteroid/tiny-planet was discovered in 2003, and named for the Intuit Goddess of the ocean deeps and the creatures who live there.

Sedna's story also speaks to a realm of our own psyches and beings, of course, and she is intimately related to the re-emerging story of the Divine Feminine.

These are just a few of the potential clues we can use to piece together guidance about our 'power archetypes', and our purpose and life-cycles at any given time, particularly when we're eyeball deep in wild change or at a crossroads.

Clue by clue, breadcrumb by breadcrumb, we follow our Purpose Path, even if our eyes can't see it.

That's particularly true now, in these times, and it'll be more and more the way as more left-brain approaches to 'figuring it out' just don't work.

More on these topics soon (or send me an email to spark up a e-conversation).

In the meanwhile, here's a gem from my web wanderings:

Take a look at Willow's blog entry about Chiron -- here's a tiny tidbit of the spicy wisdom she shares:

"And the army of people bleating about victim consciousness and creating your own reality works very effectively, moving us further from the depth of understanding of power dynamics and structures on this planet that would get us to the true healing points. Every flippant use of those concepts is another pound of pressure pinning Sedna down, suffering in betrayal on the ocean floor."

I've come across only a few other kindred-spirit peeps who weave Chiron with several asteroid and tiny-planet Goddess archetypes (Sedna and Pallas Athena, in this case) as they speak with some spice and feistiness about the re-emergence of the Divine Feminine.

What calls to you these days, or challenges you, when it comes to the Forces of Change or the Forces of the Re-Emerging Feminine? In invite you to your musings in the comments.

Lots of Love,

Jamie

Image Credits: OAR/National Undersea Research Program, NOAA (thanks to CoastalCare); a view of the asteroid-planet Sedna, from NASA.

Beautiful Madonna & Mary Magdalene

I came across the stunningly beautiful La Vierge au Lys yesterday and was captivated by it. It stayed with me throughout the day, whispering. That's the activating power of imagery.

The artist, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, was of a school attentive to ancient themes and symbolism. La Vierge au Lys translates as The Virgin of the Lilies.

Aside from being captivated by the almost photographic quality of the painting -- common to Bouguereau's style -- specific symbolism caught my attention.

What does La Vierge au Lys tell us about the Divine Feminine?

I intuitively associated this image immediately with Mary Magdalene, whose embodiment and mastery of The Inner Way of the Deep Feminine is hinted at by the symbolism here.

La Vierge au Lys wears a dark cloak, symbolizing the Mysteries and the wisdom that comes from the unseen realms. We might also think of what the Black Madonna symbolizes and brings alive here.

The red sleeves showing hint at Shakti, the creative life force and Feminine Mysteries.

The Virgin's eyes look downward, toward her heart. She focuses her attention within.

We know now that the electromagnetic field of the heart is 5,000 times more powerful than that of the brain, giving new meaning to "where your heart is, there too is your treasure."

If you're a meditator, you might recognize this heartward gaze as a common eye focus -- eyes 9/10ths closed with a light focus at the tip of the nose.

This eye focus is said to help calm the mind and nervous system, withdraw attention to outward distractions, and stimulate the pineal gland and frontal lobe of 'higher thought'.

It is also symbolic of bowing one's ego to the wisdom of the heart and the Divine.

Her hands seem to be in a mudra, with the ring- and middle-fingers together and the others spread apart. The ring and middle fingers are associated with Sun and Saturn, so this might hint at a Vesta-like devotion to the practice, so that it informs what one 'shines' into the world.

La Vierge au Lys is flanked by white lilies -- lilies being a flower associated with regeneration and rebirth, white symbolizing higher vibration and Spirit. The throne makes clear her power, and that she is one who is revered.

As she focuses her eyes inward, toward her heart center, notice the clear, unflinching gaze of the Divine Child and the arms open wide in a welcoming, 'no one disenfranchised' kind of way.

Here we see that the Divine Child, the Christ consciousness, and the Sacred Masculine are all born from and sourced by the inner wisdom of Sophia-Wisdom, the Feminine, and from a heart-centered consciousness.

If they aren't -- if the ego, the mind, and the masculine are disconnected from the Feminine, from empathy, and from heart-centeredness -- they can become cruel, and even sociopathic or psychopathic. We see this in more recent history.

So evocative she is, La Vierge au Lys will find a place on my altar, alongside of Da Vinci's Magdalene (read my previous entry on Mary Magdalene to see Da Vinci's image).

We can work with the imagery to kindle remembrance within us, to activate latent knowing and strengthen our connection to the Medicine of the re-emerging Feminine so that wisdom and heart-centeredness inform our consciousness, expression, and action in the world.

Love,

Jamie

Image Credit: La Vierge au Lys, painted in 1899 by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Join us in The Academy of the Divine Feminine to explore and engage in the re-emergence of the Feminine.

Energy Weather: Solar Flare Zap

Can you feel it?

If you're energy sensitive, you're likely feeling the extra zap of the solar stream arriving today.

Spaceweather reports that one of the active solar flares sent two Coronal Mass Ejections our way, and there's another big sun spot that NASA and others are watching now.

Given that we're still in the zone of the recent Scorpio-flavored Super Full Moon, the energies around and within us can be feeling pretty intense.

I'm definitely feeling it. How about you?

This is a 'new normal' of intensifying, transformative energies that churn all sorts of dense 'stuff' up for release that doesn't resonate with the higher frequencies.

That means inherited limiting patterns and beliefs and ancestral-familial-cultural baggage that's out of sync with the Aquarian Age values being birthed as we speak. (For more about this shift and to check out your A.Q., listen to my Feminine Mojo Show with Hari Bhajan - it's one of my favorites.)

The muck can pretty much suck if we lose sight of the bigger picture of the Great Shift underway that we're in the midst of -- and agents for.

If you haven't already, check out the Very Lunar Weekend post about the 'energies of now' -- always shifting and wafting -- and follow the link to the self-care post.

This isn't a time to go it alone, even as the particulars of our journey of transformation might be unique. Every bit of supportive intel and energy helps.

How are you feeling the energies? Share your experience below.

Lots of Love,

Jamie

Image Credit: NASA, X-class solar flare CME from 1-27-12

 

A Very Lunar Weekend

[Updated on May 9, 2012]

The May 5-6 weekend is one of those prime times to be aware of the moon, and how the Lunar cycles and aspects affect your own lunar nature.

Think flow, moods, psychic and intuitive nature, emotion, expanded inner-vision, and heightened sensitivity and/or intensity.

And more intense juiciness in some long-ago sacred and now taboo themes.

Lunar Weather for the Weekend

Over the weekend, we have the year's greatest perigee 'super moon', meaning that it will appear bigger and brighter than any other full moon of the year.

(Check out the link below for more on that and other cool 'space weather' info.)

Most everyone at this point understands that the moon affects waters and tides. Since we're made up of a high percentage of water, that means it would affect us, too. We notice that mostly, perhaps, in our moods and emotions -- our subconscious GPS.

The full moon is occurring in Scorpio, which is all about depth, intensity, transformation, sexuality, and the mystical and shamanic. Scorpio's animal totems are the scorpion and the phoenix.

With the Scorpio full moon (and if you've got prominent Scorp energy yourself), it's good to go gently so you don't sting people with the scorpions tail. Instead, we'll see if we can transmute those energies, irritants, and fears that might get magnified and allow our inner Phoenix to rise from those ashes.

Even cooler, the full moon Sabian Symbol is "A woman filled with her own Spirit." That's an emerging myth coming into new life in our times.

But the super full moon isn't the only Lunar news we'll want to know about this weekend.

On Friday afternoon (just as I'm writing this) and most of the day Sunday (May 6), the moon will be 'void of course', meaning that it makes no major aspects with other astro-energies during those times.

I've noticed that when the moon is void, I feel a bit more untethered, floaty (or FLOWty), dreamy, and contemplative. I've heard this from others, too, even though they know nothing about lunar VoC times.

Between the void of course and the super full moon, we may notice that our empathic nature and sensitivity is magnified, so do what's necessary to soothe and TLC (see the 'amped up energies and calming remedies post from last week for more on that).

This Moony weekend with its void of course Friday and Sunday, and super full moon smack-dab in the middle is optimal for intuitive, empathic, psychic forays, for meditation, opening to receive Divine guidance or higher wisdom, dreaming, and visioning.

That sounds pretty optimal to me (given that my natal moon is so close to my rising sign that it acts as a second key archetype for me).

So if you've been frustrated and wanting intuitive and Divine guidance, or seeking a vision or to practice with your intuition, the Lunar energy weather this weekend will feel very cooperative.

Just give yourself and others some space for extra sensitivity, moodiness, or even a few of those 'scorpion stings'.

If you are ultra sensitive and empathic anyway, you'll want to keep this in mind because you'll be picking up on other people's intensity, thought chatter, and moods, too. Extra self-care is a very fine priority for times like these -- particularly since we're in a time of heightened sensitivity and intense energies anyway.

(For extra support, check out the Energy & Intuition bundle in the VIP collection or email me to schedule an energy & intuitive guidance session.)

If you're connecting with the re-emerging Feminine, remember that Luna is an archetype of the Great Mother. Since we're in Taurus-and-Venus time, the Feminine is calling for our Love and attention.

And last but not least, if you're astrologically curious, check out Rhea Wolf's Turningwheel Astrology article about the deeper themes of this weekend.

For even more good intel on the energies and the Sabian Symbol -- plus a gorgeous image of the Madonna -- check out Lynda Hill's blog entry.

Wishing you lovely Luna-tending during this very special Lunar Time.

Love,

Jamie

Image Credits: Full moon image from NASA, photographed by Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao on the International Space Station. The beautiful 'water bearer' is Circe by John William Waterhouse (1892).

For updates on current space weather, check out SpaceWeather.com