Winter 2021 Starshine News

Starshine News Vol.25, #1 Winter 2021 wind.jyoti@gmail.com www.jyotiwindastrology.com

Dear Friends, This is the ‘soul-tending’ time of year. In the dark months, we cuddle up with a book, story line, tea, and notice the light slowly returning. Perhaps these months have been dreaming you into the ideas of a new life, some changes you hope to make, some things that no longer fit feel easier to let go of. Perhaps you are creating new opportunities, daring to write for yourself a new script for the coming new year. Dream big. The world needs big dreamer now, those who can bring new myths, new adventures, new stories of who we are as a people, as a race of humankind, to the table. The old myths are worn out and dying. Keep dreaming! Be well, Jyoti Generosity- Generosity – Mother Earth has shared Her plenty And we have greedily devoured it. Sun, Moon, & Stars shine on us all, Asking mothering. May we overcome our hungry ghosts- Live simply so others may simply live- Preserve the lives of plant & animal people- THAT would be generous. May we return to ancient harmony- The human voice no longer dominating, Now part of the chorus of All Creation. Terra Rafael Winter Prayer To the spirit of the new year…as I relinquish my hold on this past year and its gifts and troubles, may my heart be open to receive all that is possible, all that is important for me to know and do. May I enter this space with innocence and openness. May my gratitude for all that is give be palpable. _______________________________________ Astrological Services Consultations are $120. They include: Natal, and Transit Reading. Relationship Charts. Astrocartography Maps. Shamanic Journeys. Spiritual Consulting. Children’s Charts: $60 under 14 yrs. Sliding scale available

Winter 2021 Astrology Column

On Jan.4th, Mercury conjuncts Pluto and whispers to look deeper. An artistic day on the 9th and Uranus stations from 11-18 of Jan., bringing unexpected events. The New Moon on the 12th at 10PM/MST brings a new cycle of creative solutions and asks you to trust your own insights. New myths are in the making. The 14th brings higher intuition and a look at power. Mars conjuncts Uranus in Taurus at 1:38PM/MST on Jan. 20th, Inauguration Day. Potentially explosive energies that ay. Look at self-limitations on the 23rd, unexpected events again on the 26th, and the Full Moon on the 28th at 12:16PM/MST. This Full Moon suggests we look at the polarities we are creating. Strive for AND instead of either/or. Communication is vital. Jan. ends with Mercury turning Retrograde (Rx) on the 30th at 8:52 AM/MST.

February begins with frustration of Sun square Mars on the 1st. Insights on the 8th, arguments on the 10th, and the New Moon on the 11th at 12:06 PM/MST. It brings a new cycle of intensity and transformation with things that are usually difficult. All the planets are packed into a ‘bowl’ of 113 deg. (out of 360), from Mars to Pluto, which is like having Mars conjunct Pluto…fierceness, strength, intensity, and opportunities for deep change. The first (of 2) Saturn square Uranus of 2021 is on the 17th at 12:08 PM/MST. It is the signature aspect of the year and will occur in June and Dec. It is the clash of old patterns and the new, innovative energies coming in. The traditional and the entrepreneurial are vying for space. The 19th is a good day for debating and negotiating. Mercury turns Direct on Feb.20 at 5:52PM/MST and we begin to redo the events of the previous 3 weeks. On the 24th, Mars trines Pluto and it’s a day to easily do things that usually are difficult. The Full Moon on the 27th at 1:17 AM/MST says to be willing to see the larger picture, and it brings unexpected insights.

On March 4th, look to an expanded mind and perspective. The New Moon on the 13th at 3:21 AM/MST is also the day that Mercury catches up and ends this cycle. You are moving into new territory. The New Moon says music is soothing, healing and a spiritual/emotional expression. Be willing to see the truth of things. The Spring Equinox on the 20th at 3:37 AM/MDT suggests that this is a good time to heal and let go of things over this next quarter. Express your feelings. Harness energy for personal goals. Artistic creativity and the appreciation of beauty on the 25th. The Full Moon on the 28th at 12:48 PM/MDT brings deep healing opportunities. New understanding allow old ways to fall away. Shedding your past is easiest now. You’ve got the energy to make it happen. Happy Spring!

New Moon Jan 12 10PM/MST

Full Moon Jan 28 12:16PM.MST

Mercury turns Rx Jan 30 8:52AM/MST

New Moon Feb 11 12:06PM/MST

Saturn squares Uranus Feb 17 12:08PM/MST

Mercury goes Direct Feb 20 5:52PM/MST

Full Moon Feb 27 1:17AM/MST

New Moon Mar 13 3:21AM/MST

Spring Equinox Mar 20 3:37AM/MST

Full Moon Mar 28 12:48PM/MST

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”

Rumi

Winter 2021 Book Reviews

I am reading Foxfire, Wolfskin and other stories of Shapeshifting Women by Sharon Blackie. She re-imagines old tales, legends, beings who appeared in the stories that were told and passed on in the oral tradition of the Celts. Sharon also includes the original story in the back of the book. Some I found startling, others magically fitting my own personal mythology. Some chapter headings: The Last Man Standing, The Bogman's Wife, Foxfire, The Water Horse, Flower Face. I am a third of the way through, and loving every story!

Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor, Ph.d. The author leads us through the labyrinth of healed and healthy ancestors, those who still need help with their consciousness, the forgotten dead, and the remembered dead. Learning reverence and rituals to help those who have passes on, and respecting those who struggled earlier in your family line, you can work to help heal and bring forward the wisdom of your ancestors. A book of Honor and Repair. Very good.

If Women Rose Rooted: A Life-Changing Journey to Authenticity and Belonging by Sharon Blackie. A memoir of sorts, a treatise on women and finding themselves and their voice, and glimpses of the land in Ireland and Scotland. A road map for women’s growth and understanding of her power and her connection to the Earth. The author is a storyteller, mythologist with a focus on Celtic studies, author of several books, and a psychologist. Really enjoyed this book.

Yearning for the Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul by Tom Cowan. Tom lyrically muses on sacred rivers, our intimate relationship with the Earth and all the elements, and healing the divide inside and outside in our lives. I so enjoyed this book. He is a teacher if shamanism and Celtic Spirituality. www.riverdrum.com

Messandrierre: A Jacques Foret Mystery by Angela Wren. A re-assigned police officer to a small French village, begins to notice the young male travelers who go missing. We follow his research, his attractions, and his relationship with a young boy who dreams of becoming a gendarme. Enjoyed this. First in a series.

The Silent Daughter by Claire Amarti. Sadie and Fiona meet as children and are inseparable. Life changes, tragedies, secrets begin to build in Sadie’s life, the main character. Now returning to teach at the all-girls’ school she attended as a child, pranks and disappearances stalk her. And then there’s the relationship with her mother. Enjoyed Amarti’s first mystery novel.

Deathwalking: Helping Them Cross the Bridge. Ed. by Laura Perry. Loved this book. I’ve been looking for a book like this for a long time. It’s an anthology on Shamanic psychopomp experiences. (Psychpomp is a Greek word that means to guide souls to the Light after death.) There are experiences shared here by about 10 authors, and they range from children in England with a natural propensity for this work because they can see those who have passed are not afraid of death, to the actual shamanic journeys of those who have helped others pass on.

All Soul’s Day by J.J. Marsh. The final book (#12) in the Beatrice Stubbs series. Between the English countryside to Bruges, Belgium, Beatrice and her fellow detective, Theo, follow the trail of a seeming bank fraud scheme. It open us with a murder and misdirection. Was sorry to see this series end. Want to see what the author has in store next!

Murder Unexpected by Anita Watler. Kat and Mouse and their agency, the Connection, find themselves pregnant (Kat) and researching an adoption/death/inheritance/birth mother situation. All is not what it seems. We D.I. Marsden comes calling, asking for assistance, they pony up to their professional calling and begin to solve the crimes in their small English village.

Sacred Plant Initiations: Communicating with Plants for Healing and Higher Consciousness by Carole Guyett. I’m finding this book fascinating. I have used herbs for most of my life, and meditated with them when making flower essences years ago. I am deeply involved with my shamanic life and this book fits in perfectly. Using plants, including trees, as catalysts for journeying, whether to the fairy kingdom or using Oak as a link with the 3 worlds of shamanism, this book is a marvel. I’m loving it! Am really enjoying the journey-stories of the students Carole is working with, and their myriad of experiences. Her labyrinth in Ireland sounds wonderful!

From The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram

‘The traditional tribal shaman, I came to discern, acts as an intermediary between the human community and the larger ecological field, ensuring that there is an appropriate flow of nourishment, not just from the landscape to the human inhabitants, but from the human community back to the local earth. By his constant rituals, trances, ecstasies, and “journeys”, he ensures that the relation between human society and the larger society of beings is balanced and reciprocal, and that the village never takes more from the living land than it returns to it – not just materially but with prayers, propitiations, and praise. The scale of a harvest or the size of a hunt are always negotiated between the tribal community and the natural world that it inhabits.’

For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet

Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop.

Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control.

Open the door, then close it behind you.

Take a breath offered by friendly winds. They travel the earth gathering essences of plants to clean.

Give it back with gratitude.

If you sing it will give your spirit lift to fly to the stars’ ears and back.

Acknowledge this earth who has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely within your parents’ desire.

Let your moccasin feet take you to the encampment of the guardians who have known you before time, who will be there after time. They sit before the fire that has been there without time.

Let the earth stabilize your postcolonial insecure jitters.

Be respectful of the small insects, birds and animal people who accompany you. Ask their forgiveness for the harm we humans have brought down upon them.

Don’t worry. The heart knows the way though there may be high-rises, interstates, checkpoints, armed soldiers, massacres, wars, and those who will despise you because they despise themselves.

The journey might take you a few hours, a day, a year, a few years, a hundred, a thousand or even more.

Watch your mind. Without training it might run away and leave your heart for the immense human feast set by the thieves of time.

Do not hold regrets.

When you find your way to the circle, to the fire kept burning by the keepers of your soul, you will be welcomed.

You must clean yourself with cedar, sage, or other healing plant.

Cut the ties you have to failure and shame.

Let go the pain you are holding in your mind, your shoulders, your heart, all the way to your feet. Let go the pain of your ancestors to make way for those who are heading in our direction.

Ask for forgiveness.

Call upon the help of those who love you. These helpers take many forms: animal, element, bird, angel, saint, stone, or ancestor.

Call your spirit back. It may be caught in corners and creases of shame, judgment, and human abuse.

You must call in a way that your spirit will want to return.

Speak to it as you would to a beloved child.

Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It may return in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be happy to be found after being lost for so long.

Your spirit will need to sleep awhile after it is bathed and given clean clothes.

Now you can have a party. Invite everyone you know who loves and supports you. Keep room for those who have no place else to go.

Make a giveaway, and remember, keep the speeches short.

Then, you must do this: help the next person find their way through the dark.

“The Heroine’s Journey at some level has to be a woman’s journey, and there are some genuine differences between men and women beyond the biological. There’s a spectrum, of course, and social and cultural conditioning plays a big role in how the various qualities we think of as masculine or feminine are expressed in individuals, but particular skills and capacities have usually been associated with male and female ways of being in the world. Feminine wisdom, rather than masculine wisdom, is what the Heroine’s Journey is about. It’s about recovering her sense of imagination, of creativity, of spontaneity, of connection. It’s about acknowledging the energies that have been suppressed in the culture and not feeling that we have to make the Hero’s Journey in order to “succeed.” To me, it’s very much an imaginative, creative journey about reclaiming the connection we once had with the land and with its other-than-human inhabitants—and discovering how our own individual psyche is woven into the soul of the world.” Sharon Blackie