Wednesday August 12th at 10:36:27 am PDT the new moon in Leo is a total solar eclipse. To see the path of visibility you may see that graphic here. The Sabian symbol for this eclipse is Leo 21, Intoxicated chickens. Blain Bovee wraps up his illustration of this Sabian symbol with this sentence for his closing paragraph in his book The Sabian Symbols Brought to Life,
“Apply this degree-pair with a mind to the intoxicating nature of spirit; rushing into frenzied excitement of false expectation; dispelling notions of being the chosen one. Think of the potential effects of poison: in homeopathic terms, one drop of the right poison induces a healing crisis; too much of the wrong poison really takes the life out of a dream, and sometimes literally takes a life.” p.212
As an observer looking around this past week, this Sabian symbol of intoxicated chickens fits profoundly in a few close social spheres. I feel inspired to write about one of them. One being the global astrological community and the recent event and response events tied to the ill-chosen words of one of my teachers of astrology. With an eclipse in Leo, this will definitely lead to some unexpected falls from spotlight for authority figures in different spheres, likely visible and likely life shifting. If you’re observing this in your spheres of life, how we respond in these moments are incredibly important.
It is a humble reminder that our shadow work hits us when we least expect it to emerge. It may take months if not years for the healing this specific shadow eruption has created. I am sad for the harm that did come of it for many who have been deeply wounded by this and the re-wounding. I hope in time the community will heal in more profound ways than what we collectively imagined prior to this event. I did not write on social media at all in response, this incident required a moment to fully sit with all of it and not react immediately. I saw a post I think shared by Sam Reynolds and then the first post response from my teacher Steven on August 6th (I’m writing this on August 10th) and decided to watch the podcast video myself with my own eyes and ears to have clarity of the matter at hand. I decided to copy the transcript immediately upon finishing because I knew that it would likely be taken down and maybe even edited, which it has. It made me wonder, as an astrologer about the chart of the LILA partnership, I’m sure this moment is buried within it as the real shadow work appeared through the partnership podcast. But the entity created does not separate the souls from the work that landed, the unforeseen invitation to shadow work, not teaching it from past examples but from one that was buried in the unconscious primed for this moment. Hello, Pluto in Aquarius opposite Jupiter in Leo. I think also whoever was responsible for releasing the video into the public bears some responsibility for the harm too, that was my opinion of the moment I watched it. I said outloud to myself as it played out, “holy shit!” Well, indeed it is holy shit and its our clean-up. We have the tools of forgiveness, self reflection, wisdom from other shadow work we’ve done individually, this one is much bigger, it is our collective. Unconsciously, lit by an elder, teacher, his friend and student and business partner and his partner.
I needed time to really sit with what he had said not just the harmful words but everything that came after it too, in his misplaced discernment of word choices of that moment, but also the words that came after it too. Then after the shock it dawned on me, that my teacher was living a very public moment of his shadow, and igniting a collective shadow that needs to be addressed through reflection and self awareness, owning it, finding it in our hearts to forgive however we are in the collective response and connection for where we may emerge in time from here. My heart sank for everyone, but it sank further as I saw the ripple effect of what it did. My heart is so sad for BIPOC because it was probably more painful than I could imagine given so much that has happened in recent weeks related to harm done to BIPOC individuals in various cities across the USA and my heart was sad for my fellow astrologers on the whiplash of this shadow emerging moment. It saddens me beyond words the day I heard it and still, that is why it took me so long to find these words. In addition to other personal emotional upheavals that occurred the last week of July and first few days of August. I was raw already when this one emerged, but it is here.
It makes me feel deep sadness to read the overflow of woundedness that has poured out from this podcast moment. Even if the intention of the participants was for teaching or inspiring others to learn about shadow work. The unconscious material presented forward and thus our journey into the underworld. We are collectively invited to this shadow work now. As part of the astrological community it is part of my work too, so here I sit writing. It is indeed a time of self reflection about all that our BIPOC community has suffered and it seems to be a time of ripping off the cover of a wound that has come due to heal deeper. If we are to live into our truth of being in service at this time.
If our soul task is to be in service to others, it is always our work to know how to handle ourselves in these moments, and if we do not know we become students again. Our society’s use of social media has a whiplash of cause and effect that is so damaging. And the speed in which digital media may spread increases the harm that any aware soul could help deter or decrease the harm done. This is our responsibility to create safe spaces and to also learn better how to have public exchanges when souls in our community are on the path of reflection. The unconscious responses online were hard to read, but I read them to understand the depth of the situation we are in together. Many know I stopped posting posts on social media two ago unless it was in stories to help our less visible populations have their voices extended, or for emergencies like the recent fire ripping through my birth city of Spokane. This eclipse season is really one for the history books, especially for the personal ego. The ego is getting a kick in the ass, we all need to make haste in returning to our meditation seats.
It must be said here, as I will not post on social media per my own distaste of social media that I walked away from, thus the goddess Athena is my cover image for wisdom. I still hold some presence there to a minimum as noted. On other channels I will continue sharing my knowledge of astrology. This teacher has forty years of work and writing that I think many have received much healing and insight from and that knowledge still can be shared to be in service to others. Everyone practicing astrology has shadow work, some of ours is visible, some of ours is not.
Perhaps given the grace for time in deep introspection this teacher, an elder who has been present for many souls in their shadow periods will find the way through another dark night of the soul period what he is ready to address his part in this now, as that is the invite from this event. He may or may not pick it up, but that is the soul work. I send him love and hope he touches deeper than he imagined. I will see him again I hope one day with renewed spirit and wisdom from this deep dive. The healing potential is profound as we may all register given the size of the tidal wave of this.
I remember a few stories he had shared with us in his AP, not sure if it was Calistoga or Alpine, but it was about how he started building his astrological apprentice program long before I ever knew of him. He had mentioned that he had a falling out with another astrologer in the astrological community many years ago. I remembered that story (not all the details) but the story came back to mind this week, it seems it has a pattern to it on one perspective, the fact he left the astrological community to some degree, he had to find the courage to do things on his own, determined to build his own. I do not know how many years ago that specific event happened in his life, but I wonder if it wasn’t under similar inner world tensions ready to be examined. He created what he did on his own because he was pushed, or he outed himself at that time (pardon my memory on the details). He did so well at his craft and teaching, and writing he won awards at UAC. Now not on the ticket to speak, (I understand he was willing to step down on his own, but also came out as a decision with more woundedness unconscious material surfacing, this is why I think it is something to heal there too). I do hope in time with reflection he finds a way to do so again. One cannot help being an observer of patterns not to wonder if that community pattern is also repeating, but it is within a sphere much greater, not in just this moment now, but it will touch on hundreds of years in our history in the US too and beyond, UAC is global. Looks like victimhood on one side, it is shadow work in both cases, no matter which way we spin it. I’m neither judge nor jury, I’m just reflecting on stories that were shared to me from this teacher and sharing again, perhaps they will be read and revisited. Our seeing the pattern can help us see better our healing path.
For my teacher, who is on a walk in the underworld to sit with all this experience I pray for healing and grace finds your heart and allows you to find humility with love. Shoot, from my own personal emotional fallouts this week I’m in Hades too. Hi, welcome, it’s fucking hot here and there’s not enough Kleenex. This teacher would often say, “the planets in transit are all about integration!” Well, that integration time is definitely due, more important than ever. He also said, when you look at something and your response (or actions) ask yourself what will it matter in 500 years. Well, of all the things he (we) could do that would last 500 years into our futures is to take time to reflect, find the courage to heal this part of self with love, however grace may find its way through the cracks, allow humility to find a pathway too. Return to the basics, meditation, time alone, reflection, fasting, yoga. Detox our nervous systems and our old ideas of who we think we are. This week they burned to the ground. I hold a place for our community to heal and to find our way back to each other with love and for my teacher, his friend and business partner, and his partner to experience the redeemed self from his journey with shadow in ways I’m certain he (they) never anticipated such an invitation at this hour of his life. To my colleagues and friends, BIPOC and vulnerable groups, I send love to support you always, I remain open to listen, find courage to speak when it matters most for spaces of safe learning and shared curiosity on a subject we all love.
I want to quote Robert A. Johnson here because of all the people who might reach my teacher’s heart it would be him. Rest in peace Robert, my favorite author who distilled so much wisdom in his life. Here’s one that is quite simple but it illuminates so much for this moment, “To suffer one’s confusion is the first step in healing.”
I have long stated that astrology for me is one of the greatest tools for self reflection, even though I know it is far greater than that, it has just as many definitions as those who dare turn from their former beliefs and ideas about astrology to study it and define it for themselves. I was born an optimist, Sagittarius Sun in the 9th house. I too have dark days, weeks, months as I wrestle with my soul’s lessons and blocks related to feeling connected with others. I am hopeful that with love we can find our way back, and one of the first acts of love I offer is reflective and hopeful, with grace for space, letting others know that we must always strive to find our way to love. It is a daily walking back to being love in how we extend ourselves when it feels risky to do so, vulnerability is part of being human at the core of who we all are.
Last week I fell into my own hole of emotional upsets for personal experiences I’m navigating with all the activities of my move into our home in Portland. My mental health took a nose dive and it tripped me up on so many things inside my inner world. Part of this eclipse season truly. In short, I had a major meltdown. I do not blame the stars. They simply reminded me to review what the heck has been going on inside me for a long time of movement, some failures that hurt (still do) and trying to find my bounce again with forward motion that comes from the heart with a flow of energy to sustain it. I thought I’d navigate back sooner to my bounce, but I’m still trying to navigate the channels of my mind that took me off my path. I needed to take a moment to acknowledge that what I had envisioned was not happening and it was incredibly hard to release what I thought was to be. I share this because we all have journeys of healing, they come when they come, even if we had ideas mapped out and heavily planned for something for forward motion, that’s just the way it is.
These moments help me see how often I block the love that I am. Boundaries and direct communication are some of the most challenging things to do when these were issues in my childhood that still appear today in adult life. I understand the pressure cooker of the moment, I am not spared or separated for knowing the astrology of the moment. So I share this from that place of still emerging from that with the rawness of how hard it is to pull oneself back to center to return our love to the place we battle within so harshly. I have had my own personal invitation to reflect on my intoxicated chicken moments.
Remembering all that I’ve learned takes courage to apply it when my ego is going off like an intoxicated chicken, but that my friends, IS the true challenge. The lunar eclipse on August 27-28th will be even greater for our lessons with shadow, as Uranus will square the lunar eclipse (partial at 4 degrees Pisces). Presently I’m on a deep dive to dig into the symbolism of something and I hope to share that after eclipse season, maybe shortly after the autumnal equinox in late September. Until the lunar eclipse I pray you find moments of meditation to center your heart at this time. Namaste. Bless this moment.
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