02 Oct The week ahead: October 2nd through October 8th:

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We have a potent full harvest moon in Aries coming up on the 5th and it’s time to reap what you’ve been sowing, especially from the last new moon on Sept 20th. Aries doesn’t mess around and being ruled by Mars, there’s going to be some big intensity added to the mix this week. Mars is known for being aggressive and angry (God of War) so don’t surprised if we see war and war like themes playing out within our relationships and the larger stage (politics and world affairs), too. Aries also rules the head, so look out this week for any teeth, brain, eyes, ears, or hair issues. If you haven’t been to the dentist in a hot minute, now is the time to go see someone and save your teeth. Nobody has time to look like a crackhead, so take care of yourself 🙂

Power and control are also big themes for Aries (being an Aries myself, I can assure you of this) as well as knowing yourself. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac (the sign of ego and free will), and known for being a bit selfish, but they don’t mean to be; in your process of self-actualization this week, be cognizant of the other stories involved or connected with your own. Aries comes with a big message that if you know who you are, anything you want to be do, be, or become is possible; you are far bigger than the obstacle in front of you. For this full harvest moon, the fabulous Chani Nicholas says,

“Pluto demands that we get into the mud of our unconscious material. Demands that we deal with the psychological behaviors that keep us replaying old hurts and betrayals. Demands that we let go of the very things that we think we cannot do without. Pluto reminds us that, in the end, it will win.”

“Death comes for us all.”

“The more attached we are to our ego’s needs, the harder our eventual death, and every symbolic death we experience on the way to it, will be. The more willing we are to cooperate with life’s cycles of death and rebirth, the more seamlessly we can align ourselves with the creative power that they unleash.”

“Thursday’s full moon asks us to harvest the wealth that comes from being aligned with the processes of release and regeneration.”

“On the same day as the full moon, Venus and Mars come together in Virgo. Together these two are a potent mix of erotic and creative energy. Venus magnetizes. Mars seeks out what it desires. Together in Virgo, their passion is put to good use. This combination is driven to perform a task and to do so with incredible urgency. Both planets are on their way to squaring Saturn, however, so the work needs to be done well as it will be tested. Thoroughly.”

“The last aspect of the week in Mercury’s superior conjunction with the sun. This is the point in Mercury’s cycle where it is furthest from the earth. Here, Mercury gathers information from a greater perspective. One that can help us to cull the insights that we might otherwise miss out on. We can make use of this transit by running into the information that is trying to make itself known to us. Ask for help with the questions you wrestle most with and listen intently for the answers as they are sure to come.”

We’re still in Libra season too, so those themes we’ve been talking about of balance, justice, and peace need to be kept in the back of your mind, if more aggressive or impatient feelings arise. This might be your greatest achievement this week (of keeping the peace or finding balance within your relationships) so look for ways you can bring in some Venusian (Venus is the ruling planet of Libra) beauty, love, and compromise (but not self-sacrificing in a destructive way—DO NOT give up who you are for another person or situation). This week is really going to be about you standing apart as an individual and finding the passion within you to accomplish your dreams. If you can be careful not to steamroll over people around you too, or allow yourself to get steamrolled, then you’ll be good to go.

So how can we use the energy of this week to help us? My advice is this: How do you use your power–do you allow people to use you up and walk all over you, or do you do this to others? How can you come from the heart this week instead of the ego? Where can you apply the Libra quality of patience, with an added bonus of self-discipline and a mature attitude in your relationships, or anything you’re tackling right now?  This week, assert yourself from the heart. You’re ready to follow where your passions are leading.

Think about drawing down the moon this week. The full moon is a time when relationships of all kinds are highlighted, including the one with yourself. It’s also a time when projects started at the last new moon can be harvested or completed. Take stock right now of any imbalances in your partnerships and wrap up projects that need to move on to the next level. You can also set out a bowl of water at this full moon to soak up all the energy. You can use it later to scry in or use the water to nourish yourself with. If you like to do incantations, prayer or mediation at the full moon, this will add some pep to your step. I like this Pagan/Wiccan incantation I found that says, “Mother Goddess, lend me your light. Give me your power on this faithful night. I invoke you into my being and soul. Fill up my vessel, make me feel whole. I stand before you in awe and in love. I cherish your gifts you send from above. I ask you tonight to show unto me. My mother, my Goddess, So Mote It Be.” Feel free to change this in any way you like or to make it your own, any way you see fit. Make sure to face the full moon and out stretch your arms so you can take everything in. Enjoy this powerful energy!

Go ahead an pick a card from above (pick one, two, or all three cards–pick what you’re drawn to). The stone you see in the picture above is Rainbow Moonstone. Moonstone has long been known for its calming, soothing qualities on the emotional body. Its energy is balancing and healing, assisting in the mastery of emotions by bringing them under the control of Higher Will, rather than expressing or repressing them. It also helps identify emotional patterns that are stored in the subconscious, and serves as a guardian to contain explosive passions, and to stimulate confidence and composure. Moonstones can be placed at the center of the chin (the Moon Center) to create this balance. Moonstone bestows a depth of feeling, a gentleness within the self that brings happiness to the environment in which it resides. Associated with the feminine, it enhances the intuitive side of the mind. To women, Moonstone reveals their feminine power and abilities of clairvoyance, and gives rise to the kundalini energy. Moonstone helps men become more in-tune with the feminine aspects of their nature, and stimulates the right side of the brain, encouraging nonlinear thinking and emotional balance. Moonstone is especially calming to children. It soothes those away from home at night, drives away nightmares and encourages sleep. It is also used to treat sleepwalking. If you’d like to learn more about this stone, please go here. 

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If you chose card #1: Your message this week is about Tracey Emin. Like a good friend rolled in garbage, the work of Tracy Emin, British rep at the 2007 Venice Biennale, is both intimate and a potential bio hazard. In Everyone I’ve Ever Slept With 1963-95, the viewer is welcomed into a small camping tent, in which Emin delivers on the title with those bedmates’ names appliqued to the interior walls. Her acclaimed and contested My Bed consists of Emin’s mattress after a depressive episode, topped with stained sheets, stained panties, contraceptives, empty bottles, cigarette butts and the emotional compost that fertilizes this mess. Emin’s personal and professional works or not only self-portraits, but reflections of societal taboos. Additional Meanings: Don’t hide your dirty sheets in the washer • Concentrate on finding–not losing–yourself in your art • Decay can be fertilizer for new ideas.

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If you chose card #2: Your message this week is about Salvador Dali. Salvador Dali was a technical wunderkind and relentless bombast who led the European surrealist movement mustache-first. Dali scavenged his innermost hallucinations to create his frighteningly detailed paintings of subconscious imagery and wild experimentation in film. He was deeply inspired by discoveries made in his lifetime, from Freud to quantum mechanics. When not working, Dali was either apologizing for his publicity stunts, apologizing for apologizing or refusing to apologize. The Persistence of Memory, Dali’s most cited painting, depicts a desert of melting clocks all telling a different time. Government officials use this painting to train Undercover Narcs to chill during a bad trip. Additional Meanings: Never make an appearance without controversy • Tap the unconscious and pray it isn’t boring • Being Dali is inspiration enough.

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If you chose card #3: Your message this week is about Jeff Koons. More divisive than a US presidential election, Jeff Koons is either a brilliant inquisitor of consumerist culture or, as certain critics call him, the king of kitsch. Profoundly in tune with pop culture and commodity, Koons’s work draws inspiration from Michael Jackson, balloon animals and porn, among other household topics. Like his subjects, his mixed media output is likewise aggressively visible, whether large, inflated, colorful, shiny, X rated or vigorously banal. With so much buzz about the enormous financial work of his arts and the position of his brow (low, high, or medium), Koons could be an honorary Kardashian. Additional Meanings: The future is big, bright, and shiny • Your balloon can’t pop, but you Pop can balloon • Learn the difference between ‘Camp’ and ‘Kitsch.’

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   My hope for you this week (as your passions arise, and so might your anger) is that you can find a place of balance while speaking and acting from your heart, rather than your ego. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy–Aries is also impulsive–so do your damnedest, and remember with time and practice, you’ll be able to assert yourself in the most beautiful way possible and channel all that extra spiciness through the energy of love. Not everyone is going to like this, so don’t take it personal. Keep doing what you need to for yourself, and the rest will fall into place.

This is your week! Make it an amazing one 🙂