Chodesh Tov Elul, The King is in the Field!

Monday's New Moon in Virgo - "The Virgin," Mutable Earth, the month of Elul, the tribe of Gad, the Planet Mercury (Kochav Chamah -  כוכב חמה) is closely followed by Rosh Chodesh Elul on Tuesday this week.

 A "New Moon" is when the Sun and Moon are conjunct (at the same position) - this New Moon is close to where Venus (Noga  נוגה ) is currently stationed, also in the early Degrees of Virgo. 

Sun/Moon/Venus in Virgo is focused on "borer" - sifting, evaluating, choosing, discerning, separating that which is useful from that which is not. It's about cleaning the schmutz and preparing for use that which is sacred. Personality (Sun), emotions (Moon) and creative self-expression (Venus) all cry out for that "White Glove" treatment right now.


Mercury is a Planet that does "Double Duty" in the Zodiac. Ruler of both Gemini (Mutable Air) and Virgo (Mutable Earth), Mercury is the energy that facilitates communication. During Elul, we blow the Shofar every morning to COMMUNICATE - to our own souls and to the world around us - that Rosh HaShanah - the annual "Day of Judgement" of the World - approaches only a month from now. 


It's a time to communicate - with our own souls, with our Creator - Who is especially available now, more than ever. It's said of Elul - "The King is in the Field," that is to say, He is accessible, on our level, He has left His palace and is wandering through "the Field" (the world where we live), where we can see, touch and cling to Him in love during this time - before Rosh HaShannah, where we will crown Him KING - in all His glory. 

During Virgo / Elul, we "sift." Let's remove all the impediments to closeness between ourselves and HaShem, by removing those things that are no longer useful.


It's one thing to meet the King in the Field - another to see Him "all high and lifted up" upon a glorious throne. Virgo - Elul - is the time where He is close, and THE PLACE WHERE HE IS CLOSE is where Virgo / Elul falls in your Personal Natal Chart. 


For a Personal Astrological Analysis and Natal Chart reading, contact: lorelaikude@yahoo.com

It Doesn't Take an Einstein

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~Albert Einstein

It doesn't take an Einstein (as our Tribal grandmothers would say) to see the obvious: The Times, they are a-changing. Maybe a more apt lyric would have been: "It doesn't take a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

We feel it, we see it with our spiritual eyes, it's palpable to those who live right here at "Ground Zero" of all energetic realities - Jerusalem, Center of the Universe. 

Diplomatic Venus is moving into practical, discriminating Virgo today (0 Virgo), and Mercury Retrograde continues it's second curtain-call through the final dramatic degrees of Leo. Tomorrow the Sun at 29 Leo, King of the Jungle, will oppose idealistic, distortion-prone Neptune at 29 Aquarius, the Mad Scientist.

The 29th Degree of ANY sign is what's known as a "Critical Degree" in Astrology. In the case of the 29th Degree, it's as if all the energy from the previous 1-28 Degrees have rolled downhill and pooled into the 29th Degree. It's the critical essence of a Sign - just as 0 Degrees of ANY sign is the absence of that essence, containing only the promise or potential.

Venus is almost DISABLED until it reaches 1 Degree (a Planet is not established in a Sign until it reaches 1 Degree). This gives the Sun-Neptune Opposition more weight, energetically. The absence of diplomacy and balance with the potential for fanaticism (Sun-Neptune opposition) does not create ideal conditions for an experience of undistorted reality. 

Add Mars at the Cardinal Critical Degree of 13 Cancer (protectiveness, home, "mother," money, security) and it begins to sound a little like ... Elmer Gantry on steroids.

Beware of hyper-distorted, idealistic, delusional "humanitarian" (Aquarius) and ego-maniacal, fiery folks with a sense of self-righteousness, entitlement and "Destiny."

I'm just sayin' ...

 

Introduction to the Shema - We Praise G-d's Creation of the Luminaries

"G*d, The Master over all works, the Blessed One Who is Blessed by the mouth of every soul, His greatness and goodness fill the world! Wisdom and might surround His glory. He Who exalts Himself over the holy Chayos and is splendorous in glory above the Chariot - merit and fairness are before His throne, kindness and mercy fill His glory. Good are the luminaries that our G*d created, He fashioned them with wisdom, with insight and with discernment. Strength and power did He place in them, to be dominant within the world. Full of luster and radiating brightness, beautiful is their luster throughout the whole world. Glad when they go forth and exultant when they return, they do with awe the will of their Creator. Splendor and glory they bestow upon His Name, jubilation and glad song to the remembrance of His kingdom. He called out to the Sun and it glowed with light, He saw and fashioned the form of the Moon. Praise do they bestow upon Him, all the host on high!"

New Moon in Leo, Rosh Chodesh Av, Mercury Retrograde: - The "OYS" of Summer

The Hebrew Calendar is a work of both art and science. The almost poetic way in which significant dates fall out in relation to the cycles of heaven is beyond any mere human design - even that of Ezra the Scribe, whose work on the Jewish Calendar we owe everything.

Take for instance, the New Moon in Leo, which squares Jupiter (who is called "Tzadek" in Hebrew, connoting Jupiter's function as an energetic lens of both benevolent wisdom and in it's shadow form, fanatical self-righteousness) in Taurus. The Fixed Square (Leo/Taurus) energy is one of stubborn (Taurus) passionate (Leo) self-righteousness (Shadow Jupiter). Venus in Leo close to the Leo Sun / Leo Moon conjunction tips the balance of public opinion in favor of "brave leadership," while transiting Uranus in Aries makes a Trine (120 degree angle) to the Leo Sun/Moon/Venus conjunction. The stage demands an actor - someone is going to step forward to play the role - and in your own personal drama, that means: THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON YOU.

Rosh Chodesh Av comes shortly thereafter (Sunday night), quickly followed by Mercury Retrograde (at Zero Virgo, going "backwards" through Leo again) Wednesday morning Jerusalem time. It's said that a planet is not established in a sign until it reaches 1 Degree. Therefore, Mercury at Zero Virgo has all of the potential of Virgo (the ability to discern, to choose, to separate that which is useful from that which isn't) but none of the actual power. Mercury's Retrograde back through Leo re-hashes old arguments, demands "kavod" (respect) and is less like a roaring lion than a dog worrying a bone - gnawing at the same point, over and over.

Your inner voice may be harshly critical right now, your pride may be wounded and you may be tempted to take refuge in your comfort zone - whatever that is (Leo Venus says: Buy! Leo Venus squaring Taurus Jupiter says: Overindulge!). The whole POINT to this kind of astrological analysis is to create self-awareness, which is the key to being able to stop acting compulsively. If you KNOW you're just feeling sorry for yourself, you're less likely to buy that triple-scoop ice-cream or cashmere sweater you don't really need (and for G*d's sake, it's the middle of summer, why are you shopping for winter clothes already?).

The trick is to "know thyself." Where does the Leo/Leo New Moon conjunct transiting Venus in Leo fall in YOUR chart? In what area are you most likely to fall off the wagon?

Don't give in to the "Oys" of Summer. Take this opportunity to clean up the messes instead of making more of them. Torah-based Reflective Rectification Astrological Analysis Services can help. Email: lorelaikude@yahoo.com for details.

Summer Solstace - Outside and In

The Summer Solstice is here... 8:16pm Jerusalem time, tonight (Tuesday June 21st). The energies of the year which began Rosh Chodesh Nissan (Yehuda) now turn south (Reuven). Rosh Chodesh Tammuz (Cancer) follows closely at the end of this week.

We are in the "South" (bottom) of the year, energetically - as the Sun peaks and then begins, little by little begins to shorten the days until we're on the other side (Winter Solstice - the tribe of Dan, Capricorn) of the year. 

Tammuz and Tevet both have fasts associated with them, both have calamities associated with the Jewish People, and within a person's own Natal chart, these two cardinal points (the 4th House/10th House cusps) correspond with the Inner (Cancer, Tammuz) and Outer (Capricorn, Tevet) manifestations of the idea of SECURITY.

Remember what the Torah says about Reuven ... "you are as unstable as water" (Cancer, the Cardinal Water Sign), also Reuven was greatly beloved as the first-born, the son of Yaakov's "first strength," and yet acted inappropriately in the matter of his father's relationship with his wives, thus being stripped of his birthright as the leader of the tribes. Nevertheless, Reuven did true tshuva and has a place of honor as one of the 4 cardinal points (one of the four key CAMPS around the Mishkan, see BaMidbar (Numbers) Chapter 2-3.

In one's own personality, we have our "Inner Reuven." It's the 4th House: our family of origin drama, the "seat of the soul," the lowest and most private point of our chart, where we go inside the inside (like a crab goes inside his shell), where we make our "home." It's about our ROOTS - the root of our soul, the root of our family/tribe/origins. 


Find out what this time of year means to you (and more) - email lorelaikude@yahoo.com for information on how to book a private Reflective Rectification Astrological Analysis Consultation (in person or via Skype).



  

It's Tikkun Tune-Up Time

Last week I did an astrological consultation  for a woman who had so much emotional pain surrounding the "Why Am I Here?" question that she literally couldn't see the forest for the trees in her own life.

The North Node of the Moon is the "Karmic Setpoint" of the Natal Chart, the TIKKUN INDICATOR in Torah-centric astrology, and it's placement in the chart (by sign, house, degree and aspect) is a clue to the "fixing" task of the soul during this incarnation.

The irony of the North Node is that there is also the South Node - the placement of (which of course is exactly OPPOSITE that of the North Node) shows where the Soul was the last time around, and exactly where the "comfort zone" is that must be broken through during this lifetime. Because if you stay in your comfort zone, you never get to become yourself - the true self you were meant to be this time around. You'll be comfortable, yes. But you won't grow ... and that means you won't have accomplished the growth of your soul, so what's a lifetime for?

The woman whose chart I did was clearly fearful of her North Node. When I asked "Susan" (not her real name)  if she'd ever thought about being a physician or healer, she became visibly agitated. "Yes, I feel strongly attracted to the healing arts, I wanted to study medicine but my family didn't feel higher education for a daughter was something they wanted to invest in."

I began to gently probe Susan's North Node / South Node dynamic in relationship to the asteroid Chiron (the "Wounded Healer," the aspect of the "Leprous Messiah" in one's life, the place of wounding where, when understood, accepted and integrated into the emotions and personality healing may flow to others from one's own wound) in her 4th House (Family of Origin). I found it to be very SORE.

Rather than stand up for the truth of her own soul, this naturally talented woman succumbed to her family's belief in her own worthlessness and became their "caretaker" instead of becoming a physician or healer. Ironically, Susan ended up using her nascent healing arts on the very people whose collective will opposed her formal development, keeping them (her mother, aunt, a much older sister, each of whom developed disabling health problems shortly after this woman had reached adulthood) as her "patients" for many years.

After the death of her sister (the last of the "patients" Susan had kept alive over the years), Susan is now wondering what she should do with her life. Mid-30's, single, having devoted the prior 15 years to the physical and emotional care of her disabled female relatives, Susan could barely see that even though she had not pursued a formal education as a physician, she HAD in fact spent her adult life as both doctor, nurse and caretaker, hospice provider and diagnostician.

Having finally inherited a great deal of money, she was paralyzed with fear about what to do with it. Her deepest wish was to send herself to university and become a physician, but her guilt about stepping outside the box created by her acquiescence to other people's opinions about her worth created a frozen inability to decide.

When we looked at her chart together, I showed her the "picture" of her female relatives (a strong signature in the chart) in relationship to her South Node (the comfort zone of where we left off in our past life) opposite her North Node / Chiron conjunction. "You paid your debt to them, you gave them life, honor, comfort and dignity for 15 years, and now you're free to become the 'you' you've always known you could be," I told her. She wept and then, clearly moved by receiving "permission" (from a total stranger - me!) to be herself, told me she had only the day before asked G*d to show her what she should do with her time and her money now that she was free.

Liberated from guilt now that she could see an actual "picture" of the reality of her own life (the life she had lived but never had "reflected" back to her in the way that Reflective Rectification Work does), she realized that in spite of her feelings of shame for succumbing to the devaluation of her own intellect and abilities, the merciful and good G*d Whom she loved and served had, in fact, arranged her life so that she had been able to pay her karmic debt, honor her mother and older relatives, create dignity and comfort for those she loved although they had hurt her, and in the bargain acquire 15 years of hands-on experience that proved to her, beyond doubt, that her innate abilities were not "wasted," but employed in the care of others who themselves (in a prior incarnation) had cared for HER.

She now felt empowered to begin to explore her future.

Looking for your "Tikkun Indicator" or just in the market for a "Tikkun Tune-Up"? Contact lorelaikude@yahoo.com for a personal consultation.

The Cardinal Points and Your Inner "Leviim"

Your Natal Chart has four Cardinal points (East, South, West and North) that correspond with the four "Cardinal" (initiating) Tribes associated with specific directions - Yehuda (East), Reuven (South), Ephraim (West) and Dan (North).

But what about the Tribe of Levi - that "borderless" Tribe who serve G*d and their fellow Israelites? We have in our charts our "Inner Leviim," those parts of our personality that transverse borders, serve G*d and others, and relate in various ways to each other as well as to the parts of our lives they are attached to.
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The Leviim were configured around the Mishkan thusly - Moshe & Aharon to the East, attached to the Tribe of Yehuda. That's the part of our personality that manifests LEADERSHIP. Yehuda is associated with Aries, Nissan, Cardinal Fire, the Spring Equinox, and is the Tribe under whose degel (banner, flag) the two successive Tribes Issachar (Taurus) and Zebulon (Gemini) rest.

When the Mishkan traveled, Moshe and Aharon were responsible for the safety and transportation of the ketoret (incense), the holy anointing oil, and the mincha offering. The "Leadership" aspect of our personality - that part of us that takes control, makes decisions, goes forward - is the part that is responsible for keeping ourselves purified (ketoret), prepared (anointing oil -  to be "anointed" is to be set apart for service), and responsible (mincha, that twice-daily acknowledgement of both personal responsibility to one's Creator as well as to one another).

Next the Tribe of Reuven to the South, Cardinal Water, the Summer Solstice, the month of Tammuz  and the Zodiac Sign of Cancer the Crab. The Levitical Family of Kohath was assigned to the South/Reuven part of the camp, and when they traveled the Kohath family was responsible for the transportation of the utensils and sacred objects, including the Ark, the Table, the Menorah, etc. This is the part of our personalities that manifest CONTAINMENT, the parts of us that we call a "klee" or a vessel, it's where we keep our important STUFF and what kind of things we keep it in. Cancer acquires stuff, Leo (the month of Av, the Tribe of Shimon) displays stuff and Virgo (Elul, Gad) sorts and sifts stuff and decides about it - is it good? Bad? Keep it or throw it out?

Next we come to the direction of West, and the Tribe of Ephraim (Cardinal Air, Libra, the Autumn Equinox, Tishrei). The Levitical Family of Gershon is attached to this area. The Gershonites were in charge of the woven articles, the coverings and it could be said that this part of our personality is concerned with COVERINGS. Libra (Ephraim, Tishrei) covers to beautify. Scorpio (Menashe, Cheshvan) covers to conceal. Sagittarius (Benyamin, Kislev) covers to reveal. This part of our chart are the layers (coverings) we put on to go out in this world - wherever Libra falls in our chart is where we cover ourselves with beauty, where Scorpio falls in our chart we cover ourselves with modesty (or it's unhealthy friends secrecy) and a sense of sovereign privacy, and where Sagittarius falls in our chart, we cover like a magician covers a tophat with a red silk handkerchief, just long enough to pull it back to reveal ... abracadabra! ... something magical.


Finally, we turn North, to the Tribe of Dan (Capricorn, Cardinal Earth, Tevet, the Winter Solstice). Dan and his associated Tribes of Asher (Aquarius, Shevat) and Naphtali (Pisces, Adar) were assigned the Merari family of Levites, and Merari was responsible for the frames, ropes and sockets of the Mishkan - in other words, the STRUCTURES.

Dan (Capricorn) is very much associated with the idea of "structures," Capricorn is connected to Saturn, the planet of structure. Saturn is to the personality what the skeletal system is to the body - it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it's the structure upon which all else hangs. Without Dan/North/Capricorn/Cardinal Earth in one's personality, you would be like "the late Mr. Lupner, G*d rest his soul" who was born without a spine (from the old Gilda Radner / Bill Murray / Jane Curtain "Saturday Night Live" skit about the Lupner Family). Our "inner Leviim" of the Merari Family STRUCTURES this quadrant of our personality - Dan structures time and space, Asher (Aquarius, fixed Air) structures ideas, and Naphtali (Pisces, Mutable Water) structures beliefs. Capricorn is the frame, Aquarius is the ropes tying everything together and Pisces is the sockets into which the frame and ropes are secured. 

Once we have initiated our leadership (Yehuda/Aries/Nissan) and created the vessels into which our personalities can fit (Reuven/Cancer/Tammuz), we cover and adorn ourselves (Ephraim/Libra/Tishrei) and take our functional place in this world (Dan/Capricorn/Tevet).

How does all of this play out in YOUR PERSONAL NATAL CHART? Everyone has one. For a personal Torah-centric Reflective Rectification Astrological Analysis session, email lorelaikude@yahoo.com for details and rates.

BaMidbar ("Numbers") Chapter 2 - A Picture of Heaven AND Earth

In just two weeks we'll be reading Parsha BaMidbar, the first chapters of the 4th Book of the Torah, "BaMidbar" ("In the Desert," or as the English translation says: the Book of Numbers). Chapter Two describes the positions of the 12 Tribes around the Mishkan - a perfect picture of the Zodiac itself, each Zodiac Sign corresponding to the Tribe to which it is assigned.

Yehuda (Aries) to the East, Ephraim (Libra) to the West, Dan (Capricorn) to the North and Reuven (Cancer) to the South. Each of these four Cardinal (initiating) Tribes is assigned a position that corresponds to an equinox or solstice, and beneath the banner of each of these four Cardinal Tribes are the two tribes associated with each particular quadrant - exactly as described in the Torah.

The Zodiac is a gigantic CALENDAR, it's an ILLUSTRATION in the Heavens of a reality on Earth - the 12 Tribes around the Mishkan, the energy of which creates a conduit for holiness .... just as it does within our own selves.

How does this work?

It's a PROGRESSION, a journey, like the journeys of the Mishkan in the desert was.

Following each Cardinal (turning point) Tribe is one Fixed Tribe/Sign and one Mutable (changeable) Tribe/Sign.  We begin in the East - as we say "let's get oriented," that means let's face EAST (towards "the Orient"). In ancient times and certainly in the Biblical era, directions were not fixed North/South as we do now, using the compass method. We fixed directions by "orienting" ourselves East, towards the Sunrise.

To the East, initiating Spring is Cardinal Fire Sign Yehuda/Aries/Nissan, followed by Fixed Earth Issachar/Taurus/Iyar and Mutable Air Zevulon/Gemini/Sivan. Then another season/corner/direction is turned and it is Summer and South; where Cardinal Water Reuven/Cancer/Tammuz is followed by Fixed Fire Shimon/Leo/Av and Mutable Earth Gad/Virgo/Elul.

Rounding the seasonal corner again to the West: Autumn begins with Cardinal Air Ephraim/Libra/Tishrei and is followed by Fixed Water Menashe/Scorpio/Cheshvan and Mutable Fire Binyamin/Sagittarius/Kislev. To the North: Cardinal Earth Dan initiates Winter (Capricorn/Teves), followed by Fixed Air Asher/Aquarius/Shevat and Mutable Water Naphtali/Pisces/Adar.

Each of the Four Elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) correspond to one of the Four Holy Cities in Eretz Yisrael: Jerusalem (Fire), Tiberius (Water), Tsfat (Air) and Hevron (Earth).

What's in the CENTER of this configuration? The Holy Mishkan - the "tabernacle" built to house the most holy things, and surrounding it on 4 sides within the circle itself are the Levites (who have no tribal homeland but exist within the boundary of all the other tribes). This is a picture of the human personality and soul - the Mishkan is your NESHAMA, your inner soul, the seat of holiness and the place where all your "most holy things" are kept. SURROUNDING the "mishkan" of your soul are your "inner Leviim," those personality traits which (ideally) help minister from the "offerings" of your inner 12 Tribes and facilitate the flow of holiness from inside out.

Everybody has ALL 12 SIGNS/TRIBES in their personal Natal Chart. Where does YOUR "inner Yehuda" appear in your chart?  Where do you "begin," what's your journey like, where did you come from and where are you going? In which quadrant/tribe are the majority of your Planets clustered, and what angles and relationships do they make to one another, and is there a story there?

Reflective Rectification Astrological Analysis can help you answer those questions, and give you an illustration of your own personal journey. Email lorelaikude@yahoo.com for details.

Full Moon in Scorpio - "Mine" or "Ours?"

The Moon will be full today (Tuesday, May 17th) at 2:09pm Jerusalem time. The Full Moon during the month of Iyar (Taurus) is always full in Scorpio (Cheshvan) because ALL Full Moons are full in the sign OPPOSITE the Sun's position.

Full Moons are Sun/Moon polar opposites, and the Full Moon in Scorpio illuminates the "Mine" or "Yours" dynamic between Taurus ("I Have," "Mine," value as expressed by THINGS which are possessed by the individual) and Scorpio ("We Have," "Ours," values as expressed by THINGS which are shared between the individual and the personal "other.").

Scorpio is famous for many things, not the least of which is sex. Why sex? Because sex is the ultimate Scorpionic value - it's the deepest way to share between two people. Scorpio seeks transcendence through fusing with another, through that kind of intimacy that dissolves the borders between "you" and "me," between "mine" and "ours."

Cheshvan, the month associated with Scorpio, is ALSO the 2nd month of the year (with Tishrei as the first) on the OTHER side of the zodiac/year ... just as Taurus / Iyar is the 2nd month of the year (with Nissan as the first) on THIS side of the year. The relationship between the 2nd month-sign/8th month-sign is an interplay between the material world (Taurus, Earth) and the world of "Tohu v'Bohu" of pre-creation (Scorpio's subterranean, Pluto-like "Phoenix rising from the ashes" role, best illustrated by the Great Flood (the Mabul) described in Parsha Noach which happened during Cheshvan, the month of Scorpio.

Scorpio wants to "die and be reborn and then mysteriously saved," in the words of Bob Dylan ("O Sister"), Scorpio wants to take you deeper, to the deepest place, and then higher, so high there's barely enough oxygen to breathe. Just when you're about to faint Scorpio will resurrect you with a kiss so profound it will have seemed to come up from the primeval flood itself, washing your soul away from your body ... at least for a moment or two.

This Full Moon in Scorpio opposes the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars in Taurus. The energies are reflective of the dynamic between emotional possession (Moon in Scorpio) and personal values (all the other planets in Taurus). What is "value," and what are our "values?" Taurus is often associated with money and materialism, and this is one kind of "value." But on a deeper level, Taurus is concern with our VALUES, which is why it's the only month of the Jewish Year completely enclosed by the Sefira (we start counting the Omer during Nissan and finish in the beginning of Sivan). In astrology a "house" (one of the 12 sub-divisions or "Tribes") is called "incepted" if it's beginning and end is contained within the borders of the signs before and after it. Taurus is, in a sense, the only "incepted" time of year because the Omer is counted every night of Iyar, and counting the Omer is the ultimate activity which creates the space to meditate on one's "values."

What do you value? What are your values? Do you hold them near or share them? Are you intimate only with those who share your values, or who value you, or whom you value? How do you allow yourself to be de-valued by those around you?

This Full Moon in Scorpio falls SOMEWHERE in your chart. Where? For a personal analysis of how Scorpio/Cheshvan works in your chart, contact Lorelai at: lorelaikude@yahoo.com to ask about Reflective Rectification Torah-Based Astrological Analysis services.