Sun into Sagittarius: Fear Less, Hope More and Keep It Real

        (Reprinted from Wikipedia)        On a cold New Year’s Eve, a poor girl tries to sell matches in the street. She is freezing badly, but she is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward, sees a shooting star, and remembers her deceased grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone died and is going into Heaven. As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother nearby for as long as she can. The child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the dead child in the nook.

        If there was ever a cautionary tale about the excesses of wishful thinking, Danish author Hans Christian Anderson masterfully articulated them in his timeless “The Little Match Girl.”  Does this mean that there is no place for hope in a bleak world nor any room for optimism amongst challenging circumstances?  Hardly.  What the sagacious story teller keenly understood is that hope alone is not enough, and escapism can be deadly.  As the Sun transits the boundless fire sign of the Centaur in 2010, Mercury and Mars will venture into sober Capricorn where they join regenerative Pluto, and Venus, newly direct, will work her way through truthful and transformational Scorpio. Unorthodox Uranus will emerge from its retrograde slumber, and to make sure that we don’t overlook important details, Mercury will begin another retrograde.  In short, this Sagittarius cycle will point the way forward while teaching us how to balance our aspirations with work, integrity and reality.

        Some forms of oppression, like the beatings given to the matchstick girl by her father, are obvious.  Most however work on much subtler levels.  It is often said that it is easy to know what we are against, but the greater challenge lies in knowing what we are for.  Upon that tiny axis lies an entire paradigm shift.  When we begin to change our focus from what is wrong to what we want, that old Sag magic begins working.  Affable, philosophical and kind, Sagittarius’s ultimate aim is freedom, ours.  Upon its archer’s arrow our consciousness soars into the heavens, expanding our field of awareness and showing us what possibilities lie on the horizon.  From this exalted view we begin to see the opportunities gleaming before us.  

        When the 2010 Sagittarius Sun cycle begins on November 22nd, Mercury and Mars will already be basking in the effervescent, expansive energies of this enthusiastic sign.  Buoyed by recent forward motion from Venus and Jupiter, our spirits should be on the upswing.  However, on November 30th Mercury will head into hardworking and practical Capricorn, followed by Mars on December 7th.  Mercury helps us think and communicate clearly and Mars represents how we pursue what we want.  With both in the conservative earth sign of Capricorn, those Sagittarius dreams and visions will not be immune the laws of gravity.  An especially potent dose of the goat’s milk is available on December 13th when Mercury and Mars meet up with the planet of ultimate truth and power, Pluto. That triple conjunction is an excellent occasion for seeding long range goals.

        To prevent any Capricorn pessimism or drudgery from spoiling Sagittarius’s party however, erratic, rule-breaking Uranus turns direct on December 6th. With increasing velocity, Uranus will do what it does best, shake things up. Though it is traveling through peaceful Pisces, its rebellious influence will charge the air with excitement. Between it and a Sun still shining brightly in lively Sagittarius, optimism, all be it the cautious kind, will prevail.  To further keep the ideas fresh and our momentum strong, Mercury will slip out of serious Capricorn on December 18th for a dip back into adventurous Sagittarius.  Its retrograde will be in effect from December 10th through 30th.  So as the Sun’s journey through Sagittarius exposes new frontiers, Mercury’s dance between industrious Capricorn and exuberant Sagittarius will help us distinguish between fact and fantasy.

        Since early October the personal planets (Mercury, Mars, Venus and the Sun) have been traversing the dark, truthful waters of Scorpio, and Venus will continue her detective work in Scorpio until January 7th. The truths about our lives churned up during these transits are typically the unpleasant variety. For example the report from the Presidential commission on the magnitude of the U.S. budget deficit and the hard choices ahead to fix it recently emerged. So as this Sagittarius cycle dawns, we find ourselves not so unlike our newly elected Congressmen and women.  Largely put into office to oust the government, they now awake to find that they are the government.  So it is true for us. The reins of responsibility and power rest firmly in our hands.  This Sagittarius cycle, with its shot of Capricorn pragmatism, can still reinvigorate our spirits, encourage us to blaze new trails and light our way to liberty.  Aim high!

Elizabeth join’s C.A. Brooks on “Simple Tales” next on the Winter Solstice, December 21st on 12Radio.com.

Sun into Cancer: Going with the Cosmic Flow with Love

Remarkable as it is to realize, we are nearly halfway through 2008. On June 20th the Sun shifts into Cancer, marking the Summer Solstice. Presently the large outer planets Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde, and on June 27th Uranus joins them. The Sun, Venus and Mercury are all heading out of the intense mental energy of air sign Gemini into watery Cancer. Planetary fireworks are around the corner with August’s eclipses (the 1st and 16th), and tangible options are being made ready to manifest once the Sun moves into earthy Virgo and Jupiter and Pluto turn direct in early September. This year’s passage of the Sun through intuitive and nurturing Cancer is our Cosmic opportunity to chill. Introspection, reflection and ease are the order of the days to come. In embracing the energies and insights of the forthcoming conditions, we are very likely to access the pearls of personal wisdom that will inform the eventful times to follow. Relax and receive.

First, on the significance of so many of the influential outer planets being retrograde simultaneously, most people understand retrogrades through their experience with Mercury, who can be quite the prankster with gadgets and timetables when he goes backwards. He goes direct on June 19th, and fortunately for all of us, having most of the powerful outer planets retrograde for the next several months does not mean that we are going to have to keep rescheduling appointments, replacing tech toys and leaving voicemail messages. Each of these planets has its own unique attributes and they are quite different from those of familiar Mercury. The pertinent aspect of retrograde energy that will be helpful to keep in mind is that it pertains to a time of review. We get to go over things. The retrogrades of the immense outer planets suggest that it will be the big picture aspects of life that we deal with at this time. Fellow heavy weight and taskmaster Saturn, though direct, will also contribute amply to this no stone left unturned process because it is moving through meticulous Virgo. For the resistant and impatient, this could prove to be a very challenging time. For the openhearted and receptive, the “answers” will be generously given. These truths will be empowering and will create a profound sense of peace. Issues that may have been troubling us for months can be laid to rest, for good. And decisions taken at this time can come with the greatest serenity. This is why listening to one’s inner knowing with trust and openness during the Sun’s journey through caregiving Cancer is so important. The path to tranquility and joy can truly be revealed to us.



On August 1st we begin the next set of eclipses. While these will be especially significant for Leos and Aquarians, they alter things for all of us. Eclipses shed light. And this time, as the Sun will be in attention-demanding Leo, the realities they illuminate will simply be impossible to ignore. If we allow our deeper wisdom to emerge during this season of Cancer, the eclipse energies can be harnessed and directed in support of our intentions and Purpose, so long as those are in alignment with the Higher Heart and Divine Will. On September 7th generous Jupiter, still in pragmatic Capricorn, will go direct, and on September 8th Pluto, now in spiritually sensitive Pisces, will also go direct, enabling some of those bigger pieces of the puzzle to fall into place in the physical plane. So as we initiate this summer season with Cardinal Cancer, know that cosmic reality checks will continue as often as the solutions to problems will appear.

Earlier this Spring, through her work with author and teacher Eckhart Tolle, Oprah laid some solid groundwork in the collective cultural conscience for the days on the horizon. For ten weeks she and Tolle taught millions of people throughout the planet how to experience and practice more presence. Whether you participated in the online event or read “A New Earth” is not important, though they are excellent resources. What this cycle of Cancer offers us is the opportunity to practice the awareness of presence and to experience its gifts. In this deeply loving, healing and intuitive sign, we can get to the heart of all matters and align ourselves with Divine Guidance and Purpose. Dive in!