It's Astro-Logical -- practical advice for conscious living -- Issue #16
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Life is rarely simple. In fact, when it is, we notice the change ... and it's usually welcome. Well, as they say, "As above, so below," -- and it works the other way, too. When Life has lots of stuff happening -- whether it's fun and especially if it's not, the recent patterns in the sky will tell the story of what's going on ... and why.
Today's world is like that. There are a number of interesting things in "the stars" -- some of which speak of significant changes, some are the ongoing tale of why things are as they are ... and the messages those situations contain. One thing Astrology has helped me observe and respect is the basic unity of life. The separate pieces are part of one magnificent whole, and they all respond to each other.
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"The Stars" don't cause what happens. They reflect what exists ... what's happening now and what's going to happen. They show the energies that are forming far enough in advance to serve as a forecast. That's certainly more useful than if they showed up after the fact. Don't you agree?
Astrology has a place in the conduct of a conscious life. At least it does for me.
So, let's talk about what's happening now -- and what's setting up for tomorrow ... and one step at a time we'll fill in the blanks. That's one of the beauties of Steemit -- you don't have to write everything in one post. In fact, it's better if we break it down in small bites. Today's Cosmic Smorgasbord has a lot to offer -- and a lot to digest.
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Mercury came out of retrograde late Saturday night -- and is covering ground already twice-traveled in Leo. The last three-plus weeks -- whether you know it or not -- have been a time when you re-thought, re-considered, re-evaluated and reviewed the way you present yourself, the way you put forth your ideas, the methods you use to get your points across in writing and conversation.
You may have adjusted some cherished beliefs and opinions to make them undeniably yours. As I said in previous posts, there's a definite pride of ownership now in what you know, what you believe and how you share these with others -- both to let them know where you stand and to maybe persuade them to your point of view.
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Mercury in Leo depicts self-confidence in how you think, speak and write. Your regard for your mind and your language skills as assets among your most valuable tools has renewed itself in this time of revision -- and real soon you'll put them to work, doing what they do best. They represent your contribution to the conversation of life -- and so obviously they need to be authentically you.
Mercury may be out of retrograde, but in Astrology, things work on a continuum. The planet's direction may have changed, but it still needs to build up momentum on its new path. It travels in its own shadow (through the degrees it crossed going retrograde) until September 1. Yes, things will improve and life straighten itself out in the meanwhile, but you won't notice much real forward progress until Mercury gets past that checkpoint and actually starts covering new ground.
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But it is time to put the final touches on what you've been mulling, and testing and revising -- and get out of experimentation-and-dress-rehearsal mode. The show will soon start -- and you need to be ready.
Here are some more things to think about and some questions to ask -- and answer -- between now and then.
Are the things you think, say and write authentically you? Have you thought them out carefully? Do you own these opinions and statements? Do they tell the world who you are and what you stand for? Are you willing to stand behind them regardless of what others think ... or who disagrees with you ... or who cares?
Are your statements couched in genuine language -- honest, straight-forward, no weasel-words? Are they artfully presented -- and as appealing as you can make them? Are they put forth without any ulterior agenda -- no trying to convince anyone, no trying to put down anyone, no trying to be someone else other than you?
Are you able to separate facts from opinions -- both your own and those of other thinkers, speakers and writers? If you have a firm position, is it objective, with enough latitude to take others' thoughts into account? Be clear -- at least in your own mind -- on what's you and what's them and what's speculation.
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Are you setting forth "the real you?" Are you sure of your facts, your style and your content? If you want others to take you seriously, you have to at least respect them this much.
Are you contributing to the conversation ... or just talking to hear your head rattle? There's a hey-look-at-ME attitude that accompanies Leo energy -- and it's easy to fall into its trap.
Are you truly an intellectual leader -- taking charge in your fields of specialty and interest? Are you current on the available information? Do you have something thought-provoking, informative or original to say? Are you able to lead by example? Are you willing to?
Can you gracefully handle dissent? (When faced with someone who's uninformed, lazy, ignorant, closed-minded or simply doesn't see things your way, yelling and calling him names won't make him change his mind about you. You'll only make yourself look insecure and offensive. Take the high ground. No matter how the conversation ends, you'll come out the winner.)
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Do you look for your people? Do you speak to your audience? Are you proud of what you produce? Do you constantly strive to be the best at what you do? If you have something worth saying, it deserves that kind of showcase -- and those nourishing attitudes to back it up.
Are you willing to "hear the other guy out?" Are you willing to change your mind if you're wrong? Do you hold conversations that don't devolve into shouting matches? Can you keep your temper in check? Do you really listen to what the other side has to say -- even if it appears they don't listen to you? Are you too rigid? Too one-sided? Do you think you have a lock on The Truth?
To know who you are and where you're coming from is vital. From there you can honestly engage with, inform and educate others. Make your opinions count, but above all ... make them worth a fair hearing.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
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Wow, I can't believe how much of this coincides with my life right now.. Ive always believed there was a lot more going on in the universe then what we know and i believed it affected our moods and behaviors but this is a bit creepy how spot on this article lines up with my life..
So much truth.. Thanks for sharing your awesome wisdom.. 😁 It has helped put some things into perspective for me at a time when I really need it in my life..