Greetings!
Welcome to the August It's All Good Astrology News. As always, thanks so much for allowing us the privilege of sending it to you!
I must once again apologize for an issue's late arrival. This time it was not server problems, but a major health crisis being weathered by Spiritsong that put us off schedule. In fact, Spiritsong bares her soul to reveal what she's been going through -- and the lessons she's learning from her suffering -- in this issue's feature article, "The Endless Dance of Death." (It's directly below this one.)
I also try to clear up some confusion about when to use (and not use) my new electional astrology service. There are also reminders about the early registration discount for the OPA Astrology retreat at which I'l be teaching, and for my online mentoring class which resumes next month. And, of course, there's this month's forecast!
Finally, I want you to know that I am still working with clients by phone and Skype while Spiritsong and I are in Hawaii, so don't hesitate to contact me for a consultation. (Why would I want to take a vacation from something that brings me so much joy?)
Thanks again for choosing to receive the It's All Good Astrology News, . Enjoy the issue!
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The Endless Dance of Death
by Spiritsong
For a while, it seemed as if
I might have come to Hawaii to die. But now I can see that my journey here is
more about the mysterious Plutonian process of spiritual death and rebirth.
The past seven weeks have
been, for me, a test of courage and faith. It started with elective
arthroscopic knee surgery on June 19th, which ended up being more
complicated and extensive than anticipated. I had no idea that this procedure,
undertaken to help me regain mobility lost in a freak accident last summer,
would begin a series of health challenges that would nearly overwhelm my
body. My recent brush with death has had me looking very seriously at what
life lessons I am supposed to be learning from all this.
The knee surgery was followed
by an elective four-hour dental surgery a few days later. Looking back, I
can see that doing these two procedures so close together seriously stressed my
body. The dental surgery caused a flare-up of the virus that causes fever
blisters. These appeared all over the side of my mouth, which was stretched
relentlessly during the long dental surgery. This compromised my immune
system, resulting in a painful urinary tract infection. Chinese herbs
seemed to help with the UTI, but it was still there when I started having bouts
of extremely high fever day and night.
Only six days now remained
before our trip to Hawaii. Despite all these health challenges, I was pushing
myself hard to make our house a fitting sanctuary for our dear friends who
would be staying there. And, of course, I had to prepare for my own four-week
trip.
My raging fevers, however,
seemed to have their own agenda. Since the symptoms of the UTI were gone, I
thought I now had a really virile flu bug. But by the morning of July
24th, less than 24 hours before departure, I was still having fevers day and
night that would cause my shivering body to convulse like a jackhammer for 30 minutes or
longer each time my fever spiked. Benjamin and I knew we had to visit the
Asheville ER to find out what was going on.
My white blood cell count was
so high that the ER doctor knew I had infection in my kidneys. (I suppose
this was an educated guess on his part, as he never looked at my kidneys!)
Instead, he chose to focus on my gall bladder - which, I kept trying to tell
him, I felt sure was not the source of the problem. My whole belly was
swollen and painful, but he kept insisting I had a diseased gall bladder that
needed to be removed. He released me with the name of a surgeon who
could remove the "offending organ."
I slept almost all the way
over to Hawaii, and went to bed an hour after arriving. But 13 hours
later, we were at another ER a few blocks away from our sweet little Hawaiian
"home away from home".
One of the first things the
doctor said to me was "Wow, my dear, you are lucky to be
alive!" The infection in my body, he said, was actually caused by a
kidney stone blocking the urethra on the right side. This had caused the
infection to spread to my whole body - something the ER doc in Asheville would
have seen had he bothered to look. I was lucky I had not died. (CAT scans
in Hawaii showed no gall bladder problems at all.)
A swift line-up of doctors
led to a quick surgery to insert a stent around the kidney stone, allowing
toxins to drain normally into the bladder and out of my body. I was given
a combination of three potent IV antibiotics to kill the raging infection
before it could kill me. I endured three more days and nights of
"jackhammer" high fevers before my temperature began to approach
normal again.
I am now out of the hospital with a PICC line in my arm, which allows Benjamin to hook up my antibiotic
IV's each day. This allows me to be in our sweet little cottage instead of the
hospital. I feel like I've been to the underworld and back several times in the
past two weeks, and am just grateful to be here.
I believe that everything
which happens to us is designed to move us forward into a higher place of
personal spiritual evolution. So I know that all the physical suffering I've
been enduring has some good purpose. Since my Higher Self has gone to such
great lengths to get my attention, I am definitely taking notice! I don't want
to miss any of the messages I need to receive from this grueling experience.
Astrologically, there is
enough going on to cause physical challenges galore! Transiting Neptune, whose
job is to either spiritualize or dissolve, is hovering at the entrance of my
Sixth House of health and illness. He is also opposing Venus in the Twelfth
House of spiritual union. (The Twelfth is also know as the House of Troubles!)
Transiting Uranus, which can
bring sudden and radical change, is dancing back and forth across my
Descendent. Uranus coming above the horizon for the first time in four decades
signals a paradigm shift in how I present myself to the world. Uranus is also
opposing my Ascendant, which is the house cusp ruling the physical body.
In addition, because all my
angles are close to the same degree, Uranus is also squaring my Midheaven
(career and work in the world) and my Nadir (home and deep psyche). The Uranian
icing on the cake is its square to Jupiter, which serves to amplify the
intensity of the experience.
As if that isn't enough,
transiting Pluto is opposite my natal Uranus (modern ruler of my Sixth House of
health and illness). Pluto is also trine my natal Saturn (ancient ruler of my
Sixth House) in the Twelfth, further activating my Sixth/Twelfth House axis
(physical health/spiritual health). There is plenty more, but you get the
idea.
It's one thing to know the
astrological reasons why something may be happening. It's yet another to
find out how to work with the energies to minimize the drama and trauma, and
get the "good juice" out of any potentially difficult transit. I have
been aware of these transits for some time, but do not seem to have brought
their energies into the most positive manifestation. So now I seek my own
answers, and sit with the mysteries.
When I asked the Tarot
earlier today for one card to tell me what major energy I'm working with, I
pulled the Death card. In the "Light and Shadow" Tarot deck I used,
this card is called "The Endless Dance of Death," and is reproduced at the top of this article. The card's interpretation is "the extraordinary
metamorphosis of new life emerging from death." Thus, my questions
for myself are: To what am I dying? To what am I giving birth?
My primary intention in
coming to Hawaii, other than relaxing and getting healthier, was to give
attention to my creative processes: music and writing. I know this is new birth
within me, and I fail to see why I would need to almost die to get that
message. So I look deeper.
Where can I give more
attention to Spirit and divinely inspired creativity? This is advice I would
give anyone with Neptune entering the Sixth House if they want to keep their
physical health vibrant. I can see, after contemplation, that I could be
spending more focused time in meditation and spiritual practice. Since I
naturally live in the realm of love and compassion, I can forget that I still
need to cultivate the deeper spiritual journey. Therefore, what I need to
"die to" in this realm is overdoing it in my daily schedule. I have
so often allowed physical exercise and spiritual practice to get pushed aside
to make room for the ten more things to do each day than I can possibly get
done. What is the message in this? SIMPLIFY!
PRIORITIZE! And most important: NURTURE MYSELF!
I am exploring my inner
landscape to further discover what these deep outer planets are saying to
me. I know I am being called to become more than I ever have been in the
world, and it scares me. What if I fail? What if I don't have
enough energy? What if I somehow miss my greatest calling? These
are the great questions that loom in front of me.
All I can do is
surrender. The best anyone can do when Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune join
forces to accelerate your transformational process is Surrender, Surrender, Surrender! Here in Hawaii, I am certainly in a most exquisite and powerful
place to surrender to the volcanic flow of transformational energies, and hope
to emerge like the butterfly from the cocoon, like the phoenix from the ashes.
One of my favorite songs of
all time comes to mind: "Let Me Fall," which Josh Groban performs so
beautifully. It feels important to me to share the lyrics with you.
(Actually, this is one of those songs in which the magic is truly carried by
the marriage of the words and music. There are even visuals: to experience the
song in its original context, as part of Cirque du Soleil's Quidam show,
watch this video clip.
Let Me Fall*
Let me fall
Let me climb
There's a moment when fear
And dreams must collide
Someone I am
Is waiting for courage
The one I want
The one I will become
Will catch me
So let me fall
If I must fall
I won't heed your warnings
I won't hear them
Let me fall
If I fall
Though the phoenix may
Or may not rise
I will dance so freely
Holding on to no one
You can hold me only
If you too will fall
Away from all these
Useless fears and chains
Someone I am
Is waiting for my courage
The one I want
The one I will become
Will catch me
So let me fall
If I must fall
I won't heed your warnings
I won't hear
Let me fall
If I fall
There's no reason
To miss this one chance
This perfect moment
Just let me fall
This song speaks to where I
am in my journey right now. May we all fall into this perfect moment!
I am so grateful to those of
you who have poured out your loving support and sent healing prayers and
positive energies for me. I know it has made a huge difference, and I
thank you with all my heart and soul.
I still have surgery to remove the kidney stone and stent ahead of me, as well
as an extended period of rebuilding my core vitality, so I welcome your
continued prayers.
May you be blessed beyond
imagination, and filled with light and joy!
Spiritsong
* Legal note: "Let Me Fall" lyrics are the property of the respective
authors, artists and labels, and are provided for educational purposes only.
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$100 Discount Available For 2009 Astrology Retreat
 A $100 discount is available for the 6th Annual Astrology Retreat held by OPA, the Organization for Professional Astrology. Early registrants will pay tuition of only $395 (normally $495) if they sign up by Labor Day on Sept. 1.
Twelve specialty tracks will be offered at the retreat. (One of them, "Building Your Successful Astrology Practice," will be co-taught by Benjamin and OPA President Bob Mulligan.) The retreat will take place April 15-19, 2009 at the Asilomar Conference Center on California's Monterey Peninsula.
Click here for more information on the retreat.
OPA is the only organization that exists solely to help astrologers take their professional practices to the next level. Anyone who is serious about pursuing astrology professionally can benefit immensely from getting involved with this wonderful organization!
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In Closing
Thanks for taking the time to read this, . Your comments are always welcome. May the stars light your way!
Be well,
Benjamin Bernstein & Spiritsong
Holistic Astrologers
It's All Good Astrology
"Take Charge of Your Destiny"
828-658-9073 / 800-461-3569 (Benjamin) or 828-777-6688 (Spiritsong)
www.ItsAllGoodAstrology.com
benjamin@ItsAllGoodAstrology.com; mary@SpiritsongOasis.com
Benjamin hosts the This Week in Astrology podcast -- the #1 astrology podcast on iTunes! Discover how you can make the best use of the current planetary energies while deepening your knowledge of astrology!
"Insightful and inspiring! The passion you have for astrology, combined with the thoughtful and compassionate way you share the information, is awesome. It's like therapy and career counseling and someone reading a blueprint of your life all at once!" - Anna B, Weaverville, NC |
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Electional Astrology Clarified
I had several requests for clarification after introducing my new electional astrology service in last month's newsletter. Some people, it seemed, got a bit overwhelmed by my extensive list of situations in which electional astrology could help!
The idea is not to become fearful about taking action, or to become dependent on your astrologer. Most people who use electional astrology only do so once in a while, and then only when the downstream effects from the action in question are vitally important.
The most common use of electional astrology, for example, is to choose a wedding date. The moment of listing a house for sale, surgery dates and signing critical contracts or purchase agreements are also common electional subjects.
Picking ideal dates and times for a particular event is a very complicated and technical process. It can take a lot of time, and this is reflected in my fee of $125 per question. But, time and again, real-life experience has shown that beginning an important event at an optimal, astrologically elected time can powerfully boost the odds of a successful outcome!
Feel free to contact me at 828-658-9073, 800-461-3569 or info@ItsAllGoodAstrology.com to set an appointment, or to learn more about how electional astrology can help you.
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Benjamin's Online Astrology Mentoring Class Resumes Sept. 11
 Benjamin's online astrology mentoring class gives participants an opportunity to significantly deepen their understanding of astrology in an intimate small-group setting. The investment for tuition is much less than the cost of his individual mentoring sessions, and participants don't even have to leave home!
Class is
currently on summer break, but will resume on Sept. 11. The class will meet every Thursday night from 8-10 p.m. US Eastern time. For more information or to register, please visit the Classes Page, call 828-658-9073 or 800-461-3569, or e-mail info@ItsAllGoodAstrology.com.
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Celestial Forecast for August 2008
by Benjamin Bernstein
Whatever your sun sign, this forecast will help you choose how to best use each month's astrological energies! Events are most powerful on the dates listed. However, their influence will be active for at least several days before and after. All dates and times are in the U.S. eastern time zone.
While everyone is affected by these global transits, you will be most powerfully impacted when moving planets activate natal planets and other sensitive points in your birth chart.
VOID-OF-COURSE MOONS. It's best to avoid starting important new projects or making major purchases during these times. "Business as usual" is the best strategy for these periods, which occur when the Moon has made its last major Ptolemaic aspect but has not yet moved into the next sign.
8/2, 3-5 pm
(Virgo)
8/4, 8:16 -
10:29 pm (Libra)
8/7, 5:02 -
7:28 am (Scorpio)
8/9, 5:03 -
7:12 pm (Sagittarius)
8/12, 5:05 - 7:43 am (Capricorn)
8/14, 1:09 -
6:58 pm (Aquarius)
8/17, 1:15 -
3:48 am (Pisces)
8/19, 7:42 -
10:11 am (Aries)
8/21, 12:54
- 2:39 pm (Taurus)
8/23, 5:20
am - 5:50 pm (Gemini)
8/25, 5:53 -
8:20 pm (Cancer)
8/27, 8:14 -
10:52 pm (Leo)
8/29, 11:44
pm - 8/30, 2:20 am (Virgo)
 8/1 (Fri).
August kicks off in appropriately dramatic fashion with a
SOLAR
ECLIPSE
at 9°31' Leo. This supercharged
NEW MOON
occurs at 6:12 am US Eastern time.
For
starters, any Leo New Moon is a good time for starting activities relating to
new romance, creative expression, leadership, rest & relaxation and/or
calculated risk-taking. Mercury is also huddling up with the Moon and Sun,
making it a great time to add learning and/or the sharing of information into
this initiatory mix. The fact that this New Moon is also an eclipse
significantly amplifies the power of any new beginnings you make around this
time.
The
Sabian Symbol for this eclipse is, "Early morning dew sparkles and
sunlight floods the field. / The exalted feeling that rises within the soul
of the individual who has successfully passed through the long night which has
tested his strength and his faith."* I know many people who have been sorely
tested lately. If you are one of them, you'll have the power of the universe
behind you when you affirm that this eclipse day is the beginning of a brighter
future!
Every eclipse leaves behind a "hot spot" where it occurs. Therefore, moving
planets that conjunct, square or oppose 9°31' Leo may trigger significant life
events, especially during the next year.
But
there's more going on today than just the eclipse. Virgoan Mars quincunx
Chiron encourages the focusing of energy into work involving detail and
precision. And the Leo
STELLIUM
that started on July 26 remains active thru 8/6.
8/2 (Sat).
Feeling the urge to express yourself, but having trouble finding an outlet? You
can credit today's quincunx of Leonine Mercury and Jupiter. You may need
to do some creative tweaking to join these energies, but once you do - watch
out!
8/3 (Sun).
They may be subtle, but creative inspirations are likely to be striking with
today's Mercury-Uranus biquintile. Catch the flashes!
8/4 (Mon).
Depending on how far you've progressed on your Wisdom Journey, today's
Mercury-Chiron opposition is wonderful for either counseling with a mentor
or proclaiming the wisdom you've already gained to the world. Dust off your
soapbox!
8/5 (Tue).
Choose to use today's Venus-Pluto trine to empower the deepening of your
relationships and to energize your creativity. The power flows easily!
8/6 (Wed).
There are two planets who are
not making
an aspect today - Saturn and Pluto - but everyone else is interacting! Here's
the lowdown on this very busy day:
The
aspect to pay the most attention to is a Mars-Uranus opposition. Often
dubbed the "accident twins," these planets can set the stage for shocking and
unexpected events when they make hard angles such as this one. Be especially
careful on the days around this aspect, and avoid unnecessary risks. A positive
use of this energy is to be receptive to your intuitive guidance (Uranus) and
take immediate action (Mars) when you receive it.
Next
most powerful is Neptune opposing Mercury in Leo. One challenging
manifestation could be communications designed to deceive or obfuscate, possibly
accompanied by overblown histrionics. A more positive use would be to call upon
your divine inspiration to fuel your writing, speaking or other creative
endeavors.
Mercury is also involved in a quincunx with Uranus, reflecting intuitive
wisdom trying to break through into a resistant mind. A second quincunx links
the Sun and Jupiter, which could cause you to "party a little too hearty" or
otherwise overextend yourself. This aspect can be a great energizer, however, if
you can keep yourself in check.
As if that
wasn't enough for one day, we also have Venus entering Virgo thru the 30th.
This lays down an energy that's great for i-dotting and t-crossing in
relationships and creative endeavors, not to mention redecorating! Her sign
shift also signals the end of the old Leo stellium, and the beginning of a Virgo
STELLIUM
(currently including Venus, Saturn and Mars) that will dominate the sky thru the
30th.
Click here for the rest of the August forecast.
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