ISAAC GEORGE

by Isaac George
November 7th, 2016

“The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved, just to love and be loved.” - Eden Ahbez

We all have a desire and need to feel love for ourselves, for a significant other, and to be loved in return. This inherent need is part of just being human, and the need for acceptance, touch and empathy is a basic right of just being alive. From a spiritual or metaphysical persperctive, we’re always in relationship with something – ourselves with our feelings and thoughts, our environment, Nature, and other people. There can be growth when spending time in solitude, following a spiritual practice or using the tools of self-inquiry or meditation to look deeper within. This often is cyclical, and we eventually our curiosity and desire for connection drives us to seek the companionship.

Recently I invited people on my mailing list and on social media to participate in a two-fold survey. There were two areas I wanted feedback on: spirituality, spiritual practices and spiritual or shamanic “emergence.”, and intimate relationships and partnering, and the responses to this category were very revealing for me.

The number one challenge-issue-fear was around trust. Over 90% of the respondents cited this factor above all else, including communication, cooperation, or sexual intimacy issues. Trusting the other or one’s own motivations, even surrendering to love itself and all the vulnerability it demands is demands that we deal with our own anxieties, insecurities and woundings from past dissapointments, betrayals or abuse. Some of the respondents also cited difficulties with communication, fears of losing oneself in the other, or experiencing the polarity of abandonment or suffocation.

Our way of relating and being in relationship is predicated on the models we learned through our upbringing and the messages from our cultures. These have conditioned our behaviours in how we connect and relate at any age. Sometimes the memories in our soul, or in our parent’s unhealed events with their upbringing, brings us into contact with unhealthy patterns. Co-dependency, broken attachments with one parent or another can cause to unconsciously attract the exact opposite situations that we’re really desiring.

My direct experiences and observations during the last 10 years or so tells me that many of these patterns and beliefs, as well as our relationships themselves, are under pressure to change. There are many more people who are becoming weary with any superficiality in their relationships and love connections, and I’ve seen a profound increase in the interest in soulmate, soul-based partnerships. There’s also a growing awareness of the phenomenon of twin flames and twin souls. This is becoming an area of interest that isn’t just about finding the perfect partner – it has broader spiritual implications and potentials. Just Google these terms and conduct your own research if you’re curious.
I would also add to this discourse the language and science of astrology which I see as a big part of the changes in relationship these days.

The end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012 ushered in the first of the Uranus-Pluto Squares. Uranus entered the sign of Aries in March, 2011, the sign of the warrior and being more individualized and independent. Between June 2012 and March of 2015 there were 7]seven exact contacts through Pluto and Uranus being in a square aspect, which is Mastery through Challenge. I personally went through a deep spiritual transformation via the disintegration of a long-term partnership and a rebirth into envisioning a newer and more egalitarian partnership model and opportunity.

The bottom line here is that so many of the issues coming up within relationships now are asking us to grow and let go of many of our dysfunctional ways of being so that we can actually come in to a real and experiential equality with those we are in closest resonance with, and really explore conscious relating and mutually supportive and creative ways for helping each other to express our deepest gifts for the benefits of others, and manifest our desires and Soul Mission.

My orientation is that our spirituality, creativity, sensitivity and sexuality are all intertwined in this transformative process. Once we have grounded fully within ourselves without shame or guilt, then our vibration changes and we begin to attract those who will mirror with us in love, harmony, abundance, and yes, in complete trust. It is also the foundation for building a fair and equitable economic system, sustainable communities, and a healthy relationship with our home planet.

If you would like to explore more about my approach to attracting and cocreating conscious relationships full of trust and deeper potential for intimacy, then I would like invite you to schedule a Discovery Call with me. I’d love to assist you in letting go of past limitations and embrace a path of happiness and fulillment. Simply click here to go to the scheduling page on my website, or contact me directly via the email of phone info below.

Watch for next week’s installment where I’ll share with you some approaches and techniques for addressing the issues and challenges you may have been going through, and some ideas on how to create more “Heart and Soul” in your relationship life.

With Love,
Isaac

Soul Mentoring and Astrological Coaching
Email: archariel@hotmail.com
UK Phone: +44 (0) 7875 123406

by Isaac
Oct 29th, 2016

For a long time now I’ve been wrestling with a conundrum about my calling and career direction. As most of you on this mailing list know, for almost 14 years I was a channel for a lot of inspiring information, clearing tools and consciousness-raising techniques with Archangel Ariel and some other names from beyond the Veil. What many of you perhaps do not know is how reluctant I was to be in this role in the first place. Retrospectively, I can look back and see how perfectly suited I was for this task, and how it was a perfect spiritual evolution for my life. I also knew it was a limited engagement, so to speak. Archangel Ariel hasn’t left…how can any of us “leave” the eternal river of Life? Things and forms may change, but the heart and soul of Source is in everything, and IS everything.

My heart tells me now to allow that which I’ve always had the greatest love for to just emerge unrestricted, and allow it to become the basis of my service to others. In fact, even as a channel this area of interest was always cropping up in private sessions, and public discourses. This love is the love of connection, of love, of healing our hearts and expanding ourselves to be more of who we came here to be. My life has been testing in the arena of personal and intimate relationships and partnering. For me, the dialogue between souls in love has been one that is magnetic and compelling, and I’ve always felt a kinship between my spiritual path, and the Path of The Beloved. I will share a bit more about this at the end of this blog.

Tomorrow’s New Moon is a perfect example of the transformative power of love and passion into purpose and liberation. As an archetype, Scorpio’s mantra is “I Desire”. It desires union, depth, and infinite longing to be merged with power and love at its Source. If there is a one sign in astrology that epitomizes the urge to explore the boundaries of self through deep relating and intimate partnership, it’s Scorpio!

Scorpio even has three images to denote a progression of spiritual evolution that is unique in our Zodiac – the scorpion, the eagle and the Phoenix. The theme of death and rebirth here is strong, as is the one of redemption and resurrection. The lowest manifestation is still caught up in the pursuit of material security and acquisition for its own sake. This is the polarity or shadow point of Taurus within the Scorpionic subconscious. The Eagle denotes the movement from the shadow state towards a higher purpose. The Phoenix represents the culmination and transmutation (or alchemy) from the denser states of survival and raw desire to one of complete merging and trust within the heart of the Divine.

There are quite a few important aspects with this New Moon that will galvanize some towards chaos, and others towards a higher or more refined state of connection with the Planetary intelligence and the Cosmos. The electro-magnetic principle is operative within all celestial bodies, (and subatomic physics), and Scorpio is at its most powerful in the expression of magnetism. Therefore, with the aspects involved, this lunation is even more well-suited to fearlessly letting go of any old fear-based patterns. As my fellow astro-shaman Jim Buss would say, "we cling to our karma, not the other way around." Starting with your highest desire and working “backwards”, examine any beliefs, people, objects or old hurts that are standing around and telling you “you can’t……….” whatever it is. Letting go is the art of naming what needs to be expunged without judgment or shame.

Mercury is right next (conjunct) to the Sun-Moon at 7 degrees and stimulates our Sherlock Holmes powers of deductive reasoning. Elementary my dear Watsons! This powerful triad is trine (easy-flowing) to the South Node and Neptune in Pisces. This lends a dreamy air to an otherwise potentially harsh Scorpio vibe. It combines Grace with a willingness to let go of old (South Node) baggage. Higher love is the theme here. Be loving towards yourself in as many ways as you can conjure up (it is Halloween – Samhain). Time for some elementary magic. May your word be your wand!

Finally, there’s the close (but fortunately separating) aspect of Venus with Saturn in the sign of Sagittarius. I interpret this as a slightly sobering influence that will keep our Moon trine Neptune tendencies from carrying us upwards without an anchor. Saturn isn’t raining on the passionate Scorpio desire parade for sacred bonding that takes the individual ego on a transformative journey. It’s merely emphasizing the need for temperance and self-inquiry about any delusions or illusions in our relationship history that may still be unresolved.

Astrology is not a form of divination or a sure bet, even though predictive astrology is gaining some ground (and accuracy). I recommend you pour the energy of who you are, vibrationally, with your heart’s desire, into whatever you are choosing and desiring. Then comes the big deal. Let all of it go - completely and utterly. To God, Goddess, All That Is, or however you want to think about Source and The Universe. Sound simple? It isn’t. Your mind will have you jumping through hoops all next week wondering when this or that will manifest on your doorstep. Let…it…go. Thanks!

Above the sky, there is no astrology. Beyond the confines of our solar system, there are unimaginable wonders. And yet, it is here we find ourselves. Our souls are always dancing between two longings...the "out there" and the "in here". The dance of Life, the ballet of existence. Tomorrow's New Moon isn't just another Looney Tunes event. Take a broader view. It's not about the Moon, or the Sun. It's about a fundamental shift away from the familiar, and somewhat nightmarish direction the "out there" seems to be heading in. There are always days of uncertainty in the wake of a new influx of energy, which is after all, a cosmic email with many attachments to download and view. Let your feelings happen...let your mind relax...let your soul emerge. This is what we've been waiting for.

Water, music, dancing, feelings, tears, emotions, desire, ecstasy, passion. Welcome to the wild, watery and slightly wacky world of Scorpio. The heart knows what it wants.

Now to continue where I left off above, about the path of the Beloved…

This blog is the first of a four-part series about the path of “Relationships and The Soul”. In the articles coming I’ll be exploring many themes that will be leading up to a special announcement about my new focus, and provide you with some new perspectives and understandings about where we are today in our relationships and why, and where we can go from here. I do hope you’ll take the time to read and comment, or contact me directly with any questions you may have.

I feel it is time to create new paths of relating and connecting, sacred trusts between men, women, men and men, and women and women. If we wish to create a new world that is more loving and sharing, it must begin within ourselves, and then be expressed with others authentically and without the old fears, shame or guilt that have burdened us for too long. Patriarchy is dead, the Industrial Age is dying, and the old walls between the genders need to dissolve. A time of crisis is an opportunity to change, and we are all being called upon to dig deep now, discover our unique genius and gift, and offer it to each other and our world.

Blessings on your journey.

With Love,
Isaac
​
I am available for 1-2-1 Soul/Spiritual Mentoring and Evolutionary Astrological Coaching. To explore the possibilities, just book a free Discovery Call with me by clicking here​. Alternatively, please visit my website by clicking here.

Email: archariel@hotmail.com.  
​Call in the UK: +44 (0)7875 123406.

Lunar Eclipse – March 23rd, 2016

By Isaac George
March 22nd, 2016




"In true love, happiness is not an individual matter. There is no distinction between the one who loves and the one who is loved. Your suffering is my suffering; my happiness is your happiness. Lover and beloved are one." ~Thich Naht Hanh

The bookend to the Solar Eclipse of March 8th-9th will arrive tomorrow at 12:01pm GMT. This is a partial or annular Lunar Eclipse of the Full Moon, with the Sun at 3 degrees 17 minutes of Aries, and the Moon opposite at 3 degrees 17 minutes of Libra. As I recounted in my Sunday blog, “Creative Chaos”, there are strong connections to what happened six months ago during the Solar and Lunar Eclipses of September 2015. You can read or re-read that post here.  Suffice it to say that this is a fundamental reset of the “game”, and it will not only set the tone for the next six months, till the eclipses of September 2016, but quite conceivably for many months beyond that juncture. Time will tell, as it always does.

Into the Way Back Machine!

I’ve been looking back to when there were any lunations (New Moons, Full Moons) or eclipses in Aries and Libra between 2011 and 2013. I selected 2011, because Uranus entered the sign of Aries on March 11th, 2011…the day of the massive temblor and tsunami that devastated Sendai province in northeastern Japan. I found two charts, one in March of 2012 and another one also in March of 2013 that are very close to the one this is coming up this Wednesday, and is also strongly connected to the “Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipse of September 28th, 2015. In all of the four charts the Sun and Moon are tightly arranged between 2 degrees and 7 degrees of these two signs. I’ve included them with the chart for our Lunar Eclipse tomorrow at the end of this blog.

Finally, the last blast from the past to reveal was that there was a Lunar Eclipse at almost the exact same degrees of Aries-Libra as the next one this Wednesday (chart below as well). If you can reel in the years and go back to March 24th,1997,  reflect on what was happening for you at that time, it may put a huge spotlight of understanding on your current situation, and provide you with the wisdom and courage to act in accordance with your Inner Truth.

"With Aries-Libra, relating is the name of the game. The challenge is how do we balance the needs or desires of the Self (Mars-Masculine) with the needs and desires of The Other (Venus-Feminine)?  The seemingly eternal dance between these two forces makes for a lot of interesting poetry, music, art, fables…and tragedies."
​

Oh, You Again…”

Simply stated, Aries is all about the Self…”I Am.” Equally simple is that Libra is about “The Other.” There is always a relationship happening in everything…throughout the Cosmos, from the subatomic level to the galaxies themselves. Some physicists theorize that there are bonds and bleedthroughs between parallel Universes. Anyway, the Aries-Libra polarity represents the astrological version of The Lovers card in the Tarot, or the Sacred Marriage from the mystery schools. It manifests from the strictly personal level to the Universal Level.  Beyond the duality of form, they are Divine Principles that emanate into all manifest forms, and yet are completely fused in the Absolute and are completely indivisible. That’s big supra-metaphysical theorising on my part, but feels right as a model.

With Aries-Libra, relating is the name of the game. The challenge is how do we balance the needs or desires of the Self (Mars-Masculine) with the needs and desires of The Other (Venus-Feminine)?  The seemingly eternal dance between these two forces makes for a lot of interesting poetry, music, art, fables…and tragedies.  From an evolutionary astrological perspective for the past four years we have been on a revolutionary road of dismantling and reforming our psyches through the uncomfortable crucible of intimate and challenging relationships, and all of them have been steeped in a shamanic unravelling and healing of our relationship karma. When I use the word “karma”, I’d like for you to reference that word in a new way. Think “unconscious patterns based on equally hidden vows or beliefs”.  Throughout time and space, we have met ourselves again and again with many of our “other selves” and have sought to balance the eternal dance that is ultimately about realising Love as a state or condition of being.

"Perhaps the age of digital love is about to have a rude awakening, or perhaps we are awakening to the rudeness of digital socialization."

Is there a manual for this thing?

Okay, it hasn’t been easy, and it’s not a process that is culminating with Wednesday’s latest edition of Aries-Libra lunations/eclipses. I don’t have a crystal ball, or a road map, or even a factory issued user’s manual, but I do sense that this event on Wednesday may be a gateway to the final purification of eons of relationship trauma and drama. At least that’s what my instincts are saying just now. We are being given an evolutionary push to change our beliefs, and more importantly, our understanding about the purpose and potentials of human intimacy and conscious partnerships. It can be sometimes difficult to discern, but almost every challenge our species now faces, from how we care for ourselves or look after each other, to how we reinvent and reimagine our economic, political, scientific and societal structures… to how we end our mistreatment of the planet and her resources, hinges on how much we trust in ourselves and the ones we love the most.

We pump the message that we need to love ourselves, and yet we are starving for connection. In his cynical and disenfranchised tone, Elliot, the hacker in the new television drama “Mr Robot”, bemoans the current state of human love: “[…is it because we’re] spamming with our running commentary of bullshit masquerading as insight, our social media faking as intimacy?” Perhaps the age of digital love is about to have a rude awakening, or perhaps we are awakening to the rudeness of digital socialization.

"I feel that real spiritual love, one that is rooted in mutual respect and deep honesty, is extremely romantic. It gives us that sense of “coming home” that we all long for…and know we deserve."

The Rest of the Story

While the foreground is the Sun and the Moon in the Lunar Eclipse, the background cast is equally important.  The day after the Eclipse Saturn will station retrograde in Sagittarius. He will move direct on August 14th at 9 degrees of Sag, and be very close to Mars at 5 Sagittarius. The upcoming Mars retrograde in Sagittarius and Scorpio is a story in and of itself, so I will save that for an April post.

On the day of the Eclipse Saturn will be in a stressful T-Square with Venus and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Jupiter in Virgo. I feel that having this happen just before Saturn goes into inward (retrograde) motion is a phase of reviewing and integrating the energies and lessons of all the previous eclipses, and indeed, or all the Aries-Libra contacts of the past four years. It’s a time for introspection, and it won’t work to be doing hard-nosed analysing (Virgo) about matters of the heart and soul. The Venus-Neptune conjunction will be the main energy here…asking us to be compassionate and forgiving, and to also re-image a Higher aspect of romantic and intimate Love. I use the word romance not in a story-book way, but in a way to celebrate the “lift” that we experience with romantic love. I feel that real spiritual love, one that is rooted in mutual respect and deep honesty, is extremely romantic. It gives us that sense of “coming home” that we all long for…and know we deserve. I highly recommend this amazing video clip to get a better feel for what my poor words are trying to express. True Love and the Four Elements of Love – Thich Nhat Hanh. The first seven minutes carries the nugget of the message.

Mars in Sagittarius will be trine the Sun and is sextile to the Moon. This adds a strong but egalitarian tone of asking that we tell the Truth…to ourselves and whomever we’re currently partnered with. Even if we are not with a significant other, our intention towards emanating compassion and love to those we are in connection with, in whatever form, will still have a potent effect. Ending conflict both from within and towards others is the idea.  Mercury will be conjoined to the Sun as well, so there may be an impulsiveness to ask questions in a very rapid-fire style, like a special interrogator questioning a suspect in a crime. Uncomfortable but necessary truths may suddenly come to light. The juxtaposition between Mars and Mercury will be daunting, and a bit paradoxical. You may be thinking, "Do I stick to the hard facts only, or do I allow leeway for compassionate understanding?" I suppose the answer to that will depend on what type of information is unearthed. If there is no longer any resonance with your current situation, then this eclipse may signal that it’s time to move on and open to a higher more resonant partnership that is based on true love, transparency and equality.

The asteroid goddess Juno is retrograde (inverted) in Scorpio, and will be in a harmonious flow with Venus and Neptune. The need for passion within our partnering is denoted by this placement. Juno typically is associated with the traditions of marriage, but in Scorpio, marriage is elevated to a sacrament through passion and sexuality. There can be no true intimacy without being naked in body and soul to the Beloved. This is soul Tantra, and is something we all possess, but has been civilised out of us and forgotten. Tantric practices were invented to reawaken us to the primal truth that is in the divine nature within our bodily forms. Ecstasy is a natural state that exists when we are in harmony with Nature, with the Goddess.

"We all deserve the love that we give away, and the love that we receive. The union of hearts will be a potent power for changing the course of the future. Give freely…it all comes back to you in some way, and at some time."

The Next Steps

Between now and the next set of eclipses in September I feel that it will be a time of greater movement and greater clarity in our understanding of ourselves, of others and what our hearts and souls truly desire to create in this world. Everything is connected, and the arena of our interpersonal relationships echoes throughout the human and planetary construct. If we truly wish to have a different future, then the ghosts of our past must be confronted and lovingly and empathically embraced. We cannot cure prior wounding without acknowledging our held emotions and deep longings. The relationship issues we had with our parents are reflections of all of our previous bonding experiences with each other as lovers, spouses, siblings, parents or even just workmates and friends. To change the story of our personal and collective past is to alter the future.

We have the potential to live the life of our dreams. I suggest that those dreams include others in many ways. To balance our needs with the greater needs of our entire species is the way forward. Everyone has a right to clean water, good food, warm shelter, comfortable clothing and personal safety. And everyone needs closeness, affection, recognition and love. Dr. Dean Ornish’s book, “Love and Survival” is a wonderful testament to the power of connection and what it means to be fully human. I recommend it to you as one of many potential guides to how we can imagine and create new and sacred ways of relationship, ways that don’t cause us to fall back into martyrdom or self-effacement. More importantly, we can end the cycle of heartache and heartbreak that is at the core of our spiritual wounding…the false sense that we are separate from our Source, and from each other.

Move forward into the sacred marriage with your inner Beloved and invite that Beloved into your purpose for being here on this planet at this time. Let your deepest dreams and yearnings be expressed. Begin with yourself, then with your beloved, then in communion with others of your “tribe”, then in wider community. It grows exponentially when we choose love, collaboration and cooperation.

We all deserve the love that we give away, and the love that we receive. The union of hearts will be a potent power for changing the course of the future. Give freely…it all comes back to you in some way, and at some time.

With Love,
Isaac

I specialize in mentoring and coaching for singles and couples in the arenas of relationship and self care.  I love to work with people and give them the tools they most need to navigate these times and to create more satisfying experiences in their lives. For more information and to make an appointment for a FREE Discovery call, just click here.

The Total/Lunar/Super/Blood Eclipse
by Isaac George
27 September 2015

​The only constant is change. And the more things change, the more they stay the same. Ahh, the Mystery of the Paradox. Life will continue beyond this Full Moon/ Lunar Eclipse/Blood Moon/Harvest Moon, and there will still be unfinished business to attend to over the next six months…or longer. Depending on your perceptions and situation that may sound like welcome or unwelcome news. However, the bottom line as I feel it is this is just another alarm clock ringing to wake us all up. The ringing of the village church bell did the same for folks long before there were clocks, and in the Far East it might have been the drone of Tibetan trumpets. Nonetheless, the call to awaken is happening.

I liken an eclipse to the ringing of large bell, and the tone and harmonics takes a while to die away. There will be another striking of that large celestial bell next March, which could be considered a future bookmark to the one coming up tomorrow in the U. S., and early Monday morning in Asia and Europe. A bookend holds a book up. A bookmark holds a place for you in the book where you've finished a section or chapter, and you intend to return to it at a later time. A completed cycle is like a pair of bookends holding up the book or books. The real bookend event is the upcoming end of the Nodes of the Moon traveling through Libra and Aries. There's a beginning, in this case March 20th-22nd of 2014, and there's moment of crossing the finish line, which will occur around October 10th, 2015, when they move into Virgo and Pisces. The celestial bookmark moment will be with this Total Lunar Eclipse, and the next one will be the Annular (Partial) Lunar Eclipse on March 23rd, 2016. (See attached charts below)

Much has already been written about this "Blood Moon" so I won't revisit the points already made by many very good fellow astrologers. I certainly have stepped back a bit about this one being the big Ending of everything that has transpired in our relationships over the past 18 to 24 months. I also don't buy into any apocalyptic scenarios.

Some are speculating that it may have something to do with Ascension and Wave X. There is an increase of anomalous events and experiences, of that there is no question. I've had missing time, even a missing day, and my visual and auditory senses are shifting and changing. Perhaps Wave X has come, maybe gone, or is out to lunch. Hard to speculate whether this or that date or event is the Big Deal. Personally, I'm not too keen any longer on there ever being such a thing. It's a process, and even though it feels like acceleration, it is still an evolutionary process. At least that's the way it appears and feels to our filters. 

In 1997 I was an avid listener of the Art Bell syndicated radio show "Dreamland" in the United States. He penned a book with another writer called "The Quickening", and many predictions about ascension and mass awakenings were foretold for the years 2000 and 2001. What we got instead was a fizzle for the supposed Y2K "millennium bug", followed by the 9/11 attacks, and then the War on Terror. Astrologers were watching and reading other signs of the times before this, and the upcoming Saturn - Pluto opposition clearly indicated that the "party like its 1999" (Prince) was not going to continue into the next decade. We are also still currently under the influence of the Uranus-Pluto cycle, and this Eclipse transpires with four planets in retrograde: Neptune, Chiron, Mercury and Uranus. This tends to color the game a bit, especially with Mercury in Libra. That "other" event, the End of the Mayan calendar in December 2012, may actually be evident in the breakdowns (and some breakups) happening. So perhaps that was the real deal...and it'll just take a long time to unravel. I feel that what this Eclipse challenges us about is to foster cooperation and partnering and and to consider it from a whole new level of Consciousness. Saturn and Pluto are direct, and for the time being Saturn is in the "too early" degrees to make much of a dent in the current energies. He'll be more of a factor by early December.

In the meantime, what can we do with this opportunity? The Sun and Moon are at 4 degrees of Libra and Aries, and yes, they are very close to the North and South Nodes of the Moon, which are at the Super Galactic Center Zero Degree, or World Axis degree. But close only counts in horseshoes, and I defer to the new Eclipse season in March 2016 as the possible final reckoning for what we've been experiencing thus far this year and in 2014. My mind wants to parrot what many others have been saying, as in whatever was happening with you and any significant "others" during the transit of the Nodes in Aries -Libra (and the Venus Retrograde this past summer) then that's it, done and dusted, kiss it all bye-bye. Hmmm… not so fast.

We are human beings. We have a need to relate. We are dependent upon each other as we are for sunlight, water, an oxygen rich atmosphere and good topsoil. Yes, we love our independence and freedom, but without anyone to share it with, we would start to feel like the character Tom Hanks played in the movie Cast Away. His only friend was a volleyball he named Wilson. What I feel this Eclipse is about is a call to reassess our relationship to Human Relationships (and lots more!). Too often we reject the unknown for the known, thinking it's the more practical or pragmatic route. Sometimes we go to an extreme in the other direction, and become lost in the "Other", or in the ideal of Love. Somewhere in the middle there may be a sweet spot, a place where magic and romance can meet practicality and sustainability. Goodness knows that we still have a lot of clean-up work to do around the baggage of hurt we share individually and collectively in  affairs of the heart. We are told not to lose our head in love and relationships, but too often that is exactly what needs to happen, because all of our stories and associated emotions are bound up into one big protective ego dance.

A week ago I stumbled across this image on Facebook that I felt initially attracted to, perhaps because of a recent personal experience with someone I feel very close to. Inside my head, I could hear my wounded little not-self egging me on, saying "yeah, so and so has the wrong heart…just blow that off!" When I looked at again I realized what I was engaged in, and immediately saw that the image and its message was like someone else's pain trying to divide my love for this person and turn it into a judgmental hate. I've been seeing a lot of these types of messages lately, and they're dressed up to sound like they are encouraging our sovereignty and designed to get us out of victim consciousness. However I feel that there is  message underneath, trying to drive wedges between people by creating mistrust and fear. It certainly plays well to our old wounds and hurts...creating reactions instead of healing. Perhaps we are just all trying too hard to be strong all the time, and now it's being exploited. By who or what isn't the point here, so I'll leave that for the Reader to ponder for now. When I finally commented on this image in the Facebook post, I wrote: "There are no wrong hearts... only confused ones. And they ache to be loved too." 

As I was writing this blog, I also stumbled on to this article about our personal and interpersonal need to belong, to connect. According to the author, Bethany Webster, our primary need is to feel connected and attached to others. Bonding is the fabric that is so important in many mammalian societies. Dolphins are one example, and Bonobo chimps are another. Our drive to individuate is normal and healthy, but there are caveats. The so-called "war" between the sexes is one of the wedges that preys on our separation anxieties…separation from Source, from our birth mother, from Nature, and from each other. Disconnection, or the strategy of divide and conquer, is at the heart of most religions (us versus "them") and political systems (liberals versus conservatives). Our penchant for labels and naming has landed us in branding hell, and now we sense that all is not as it was intended to be. Click to read the full article: http://womboflight.com/2015/09/25/raw-open-and-real-moving-from-traumatic-aloneness-to-universal-oneness/

What all this has to do with the Eclipse tonight/tomorrow, and the road ahead, is that I feel that our need for connection and our need for honoring and cultivating new beliefs and behaviors in our relationships is inexorably bound up with the call to pay attention to the much bigger issues facing us as a species. Is our economic model sustainable, and will we avert ecocide in time? Can we cast aside enough of our isolationist and egocentric tendencies that we come to actually care for the strangers in our midst? This may be what part of the Syrian refugee crisis is about. One thing feels certain…we only are given a certain amount of time to align in collaboration with the Planetary Evolutionary (and Cosmic) impulse before higher laws and powers overtake us and force changes necessary for planetary survival. Note that I don't necessarily include us in that prerogative, but I heartily enjoin us to consider what will happen if we choose to continue as we have been. The Chinese have a saying - "if you don't change your direction, you'll end up where you're headed." Or, something like that.

The microcosm and the Macrocosm are infinitely linked…as within, so without, and as above, so below. How we respond to our current individual challenges and the challenges in our relationships, and our response to the global questions I stated above will determine our individual and collective journey ahead. This Eclipse is one of the bookmarks. Yes, some relationships may have to end in order for a change of belief to occur - or a change of belief must occur in order that the right people can line up to create a new paradigm on many levels.

The change of the Nodal Signs is one of the bookends. The next chapter will be read and hopefully understood by next March. We have the time just now, but do we have the trust, will courage and love to do what is necessary? We don't need to trash the people that we've loved or let go of people we care about with rancour or in a vengeful way. What we desperately need though is to let go of the beliefs, wounds, attitudes and suspicions that poison our perceptions and erode the Love that we are, and that gave birth to our existence. Whatever this Eclipse may mean to you, it certainly represents another clearing being made in order for us to claim the opportunities that lie ahead. Knowing is the science of faith, and with Saturn in Sagittarius for the next few years, our faith and beliefs will be tested.

Joy and love are the main ingredients for successfully embracing the healing being offered in these times. It will be the joy of letting go of what no longer serves while loving ALL of you, no matter what you think about your stuff. That goes double about how you perceive the reflections of all the other souls around you. Be gentle with them, and with yourself because Sun in Libra is the ultimate balancing act.

And remember…don't look down!

With love, Isaac

Isaac offers spiritual mentoring and astrological coaching in person or internationally via Skype. For more information and to book, click here or please email Isaac at archariel@hotmail.com.

Venus Retrograde in Virgo/Leo – July 25th to September 6th-7th, 2015

By Isaac George
July 24th, 2015

 “One birth was given to you by your parents, the other birth is waiting. It has to be given to you by yourself. You have to father and mother yourself.” - Osho

This month we have a four planet pileup on the celestial motorway, and a fifth vehicle is approaching the scene of the accident and she is too busy texting her boyfriend on her smartphone to notice. Prepare for impact!

I’ve been reading too many other astrology posts about the Venus Retro, and so perhaps I should get that out there front and center. Instead, I’d like to take a different tack regarding astrology, the current spate of retrograde planets, and Venus in particular. 

Between July 25th and early October it’s going to be one thing after another, and since I feel to wander into the nether regions from my usual astro-babble in this report, it might still be useful to provide you with a map of the roadside attractions over the next few month or so. Try not to linger too long at any one of them though. The term “tourist trap” definitely applies here, along with cheaply made souvenirs and questionable snack foods. My focus next week will be on Uranus in Aries retrograde, and then I'll be back in mid-August with a more in depth examination of the action coming up in September.

As we begin, please keep in mind that Saturn, Pluto, Neptune, Chiron are already in retrograde motion.

For your entertainment, I present the line up between now and August 31st –

1.       July 25th: Venus at 00 degrees of Virgo stations (stopping) in preparation to go retrograde (time for review!). (Note: this is also the “Day Out of Time” in the Mayan Long Count Calendar)

2.       July 26th: Venus is now  retrograde at 00 degrees, 45 minutes at 9:56am UT (10:56 BST).  Mars at 21 Cancer trines Chiron at 21 Pisces, and squares Uranus at 20 Aries. Mercury is conjunct Sun at 6 and 3 degrees of Leo. The Moon and Saturn are almost exactly conjunct at 28 Scorpio. Uranus is stationing to go retrograde!  (Note: July 26th in the Mayan Calendar is the first day of their New Year)

3.       July 27th: Uranus goes retrograde at 20 degrees Aries.

4.       July 31st: Full (Blue) Moon at 7 degrees of Aquarius.

5.       Aug 3rd: Saturn goes direct at 28 degrees of Scorpio.

6.       Aug 5th: Venus and Jupiter at 28 degrees of Leo will be in a waning square to Saturn at 28 degrees of Scorpio. Remember – Jupiter expands the effect of this square!

7.       Aug 14th: New Moon at 21 degrees Leo, Venus conjunct at 23 Leo.

8.       Aug 29th: Full Moon at 6 degrees Pisces. Neptune conjunct Moon, Jupiter conjunct Sun.

9.       Sept.1st: Mars conjunct Venus at 14 degrees, 55 minutes of Leo, quincunx Pluto at 13 degrees, 6 minutes of Capricorn, trine the Moon at 12 Aries (Uranus not far away at 19 Aries), and Pallas Athena at 14 degrees of Sagittarius. Sun and Neptune almost exactly in opposition to each other at 8 degrees Virgo and Pisces respectively.  The Nodes are at 2 degrees Libra-Aries, and getting closer to moving into Virgo and Pisces, and the South Node is now in a loose out-of-sign trine to Saturn in Scorpio – old patterns from past lives emerge. A very active day!

10.   Sept. 7th: Venus goes direct in Leo at 14 degrees, 24 minutes. This is close to the same degree Venus was at when it entered the shadow period just around the Solstice on June 21st.

As you may surmise, the next 35-40 days are going to be quite a journey of discovery…in many guises. I would like to remind my readers that the overall tone still in effect during all of these transits is the Uranus-Pluto cycle recently completed in March. This still rings on through all of this…a fundamental note that our inner ear is listening to regardless of the noise levels in the foreground. The subharmonics to the Venus Retrograde are Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Chiron all retrograde as well. A change of consciousness is taking place, but is it all that we are hoping for? Here is where I may diverge from the conventional path regarding the nature and values we assign to Venus.

Venus isn’t just about our love life, or money, or creating a beautiful living environment. In the sign of Leo, it is not just about love affairs, frivolity or fun. Leo can also take itself too seriously, as in trying too hard to be the center of attention. Venus can be lazy and lackadaisical…inattentive and selfish. There can be a tendency with Venus in Leo to become narcissistic or obsessive with the reflection of others (“oh yes, your Highness, you ARE beautiful!). This is the archetype of the Dark Queen in the fairy tale of Snow White. Who the heck is the fairest of them all! Above all, this transit will test all of us in one particularly sensitive area – the wounded or immature Feminine within all of us, whether male or female.

I would like to illustrate this point by quoting from a recent article about  Venus Retrograde from astrologer Sarah Varcas. I was particularly touched by her following words…

“The challenge of this Venus retrograde is to bridge the gap between isolated self-reliance and nourishing interdependence. We do this by embracing those Virgoan nuances. Venus cannot live only within and remain happy, healthy and whole. She needs connection, comfort, affection and attachment to thrive. Venus fans the flames of love and brings us together to share it. She naturally reaches out to connect, not within to detach.” (Read the full post here).

With Venus moving retrograde from staid and analytical Virgo back into Leo, there may be a danger of spending too much time in self-reflection. Yes, it doesn’t help to constantly seek attention from outside of ourselves, and demand the loyalty and admiration of others. Nor is it healthy for us to feel that the only way to feel empowered and safe is to look at our outer relationships as inferior or as a threat to our independence. People will test us, and our patience, during this time; however, I would caution against making any snap judgments or taking any unilateral action to wholeheartedly embrace or strongly disengage from anyone.  Regret is not something you want to be fiddling around with come the middle of September.

There may be painful relationship memories arising, or some long lost love from the past may show up that will activate these patterns. Someone new may enter your life to complete unfinished business that looks and feels like someone from your past. Caution: is this in your best interest...or will there only be more tears?

Perhaps you are in a relationship that is teetering on the brink. Decide if it is worth staying in or getting out, but don’t take any firm action until after Venus moves direct on September 6th-7th.  Or better yet, make a plan, and don’t make it real until after October 9th, when Venus moves out of the retrograde shadow period. This doesn’t mean remaining silent till the last minute, so engaging in dialogue consciously to discover what is really in the hearts of all parties, especially your own, is certainly appropriate. Honour yourself first, but respect the feelings of others as much as possible.

I feel we are just now learning how to merge and unmerge consciously with each other. Empowerment does not include distancing from, or exiling yourself or the other. Merging does not have to mean a loss of self, at least not in the old way. However, unless you are willing to relinquish some control, you cannot even know your larger Self, or the Self within the Other. 

I wonder if some of our current focus on authenticity and empowerment is in some way caught up by our egos attempting to assert even more control. As most spiritual disciplines teach, only a reduction of ego can accompany a corresponding degree of realization of our real “self”, which is inimically connected to the entire Web of Life and all beings in it. We need to  become more aware and self-compassionate, not more egocentric.  We are in the midst of re-parenting ourselves, and we will need others to assist us in this quest for sanity. Life is not at war with itself…except in our own minds. An inner marriage will also have to have its counterpart in the outer…it must in order to demonstrate something different to human consciousness. This is how we learn and evolve…we observe and emulate from something that looks and feels better.

Ultimately, this is a quest for Love…love that is real, sustainable and fulfilling. True to the nature of Leo, it’s all about the Heart. A lion is fierce, protective, and diligent. The opposite polarity of Leo is Aquarius, so it is essential to be mindful that this work of the Self is bound up with and benefits, or harms, the wider community we belong to. What we think, how we express our thoughts and feelings, and how we act upon them in our lives touches everyone at some level. We must be just as eager to receive as to give, to be nurtured as to nurture. What that will look like and how you desire for it to show up in your life, in equality and in tenderness, is completely up to you.

Let us be courageous as is possible. Don’t fear Love, for Ecstasy is our natural state of being. But first, we will have to be surrendered to it.

With love,
Isaac

(I give a nod to Diva Sarah McClachlan for the inspiration of this blog title)