holiday
How To Have Peace And Calm This Christmas
The year 2020 has been quite a year! The pandemic has turned the world upside down. Given what we have all been through, there is now an increased emotional need to have something to celebrate, and with Christmas around the corner, we have just that.
However, as magical a time of year as Christmas may be, it can still be somewhat stressful, and this year may prove even more challenging due to the need for safety precautions, social distancing and travel restrictions.
Nevertheless, with a little pre-planning, you should be able to get your Xmas off to a good start and enjoy the celebrations to the maximum without experiencing too much stress and drama in the process! How good is that? Here’s how.
Set Clear Intentions
Given the kind of a year we have experienced, we can indeed be excused for not celebrating a perfectly traditional Christmas this year. We are now in an excellent position to enjoy the kind of Christmas that we prefer.
Let go of the idea this year that Christmas must be ‘perfect,’ and that you must make it that way for everybody. Set instead a clear intention for what your ideal Christmas will be. After that, all you need to do is make plans that go along with your vision. Having established what Christmas really means to you, you can then use it as a guide to prepare your celebrations.
Keep It Simple
Simplicity ensures peace and calm, whereas complexity causes stress and drama. It really is as simple as that! It is imperative that any Christmas plans you make are as simple, straightforward and as streamlined as possible. Doing so should help to create a sense of calm and empowerment, which you will no doubt need to take into the New Year with you.
Astrological Forecast December 14 – 20, 2020
We’ve got a full parade of planetary aspects going on this week, including the Sagittarius New Moon Solar Eclipse, as well as Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury all changing signs. The Sagittarius New Moon Solar Eclipse greets us first this morning, kicking off a new six-month cycle of renewed focus, new beginnings and unexpected opportunities.
This is a powerful time to set new intentions for manifestations of abundance in your life. Sagittarius is all about justice, fairness and light-hearted fun, perfect for the holidays and New Year that is just around the corner. We may soon find ourselves immersed in speculating about what to expect from 2021, but first, there’s the holiday celebrations to contend with!
Venus moves into Sagittarius tomorrow, amplifying the holidays and social interaction. Saturn moves into Aquarius on Wednesday, urging us to break free of tradition or restrictions, and to do more of our own thing over the next six months. Jupiter will join Saturn in Aquarius on Saturday, followed by Mercury entering a more grounded Capricorn on Sunday. With all these astrological shifts occurring in one week, we can be certain that change, big change, is coming our way, heralding a promising start to the coming New Year!
Astrological Forecast December 7 – 13, 2020
Things will flow along fairly quietly this week, as we move through the second half of the lunar eclipse. Today is however a great time to get your ducks in a row. Using the Virgo Moon to plunge into detailed work and organizational projects will prove fruitful, so take the opportunity today to careful go over your holiday budget, plan that party or celebration, or finalize your holiday travel arrangements. With Christmas only a few weeks away, it’s time to get down to business anyway!
Wednesday and Thursday will be good days to restore balance, both within and without, under the Libra Moon. So, take a break from all the end of year activity to just relax and breathe!
The Scorpio Moon will reign on Friday and Saturday, calling for more social activity and spiritual reflection. Don’t worry if you can’t get to everything on your list early in the week, as Sunday’s Sagittarius Moon will have you moving at lightning speed through all your chores and obligations.
Astrological Forecast November 30 – December 6, 2020
A lunar eclipse greets us today, as the Gemini Moon (also known as the Frosty Moon) waxes full and marks the first of two eclipses this month, along with a significant shift in direction for the next six months. Eclipses tend to come in pairs, one lunar and one solar, and the solar eclipse will occur in two weeks, on Monday, December 14th. During this cycle, we need to step back and go within to prepare for new beginnings, release the past, and consider a new focus for the start of 2021. This week’s lunar eclipse encourages us to put aside our emotions, and look more closely at the tangible, practical aspects of our lives.
Mercury will move into Sagittarius tomorrow, turning our thoughts to the coming holiday season. Under Wednesday and Thursday’s Cancer Moon, we may feel inspired to begin decorating our homes for the celebrations ahead or, at the very least, take a closer look at creating more flow and harmony in our surroundings. The remainder of the week unfolds under a Leo Moon, calling us to practice care and generosity not only with those around us, but also with ourselves. It’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves during the astrological eclipses, so the most important thing we can do this weekend will be to put ourselves first!
Astrological Forecast November 23 – 29, 2020
The only significant astrological event on the agenda this week is Neptune turning direct on Saturday, after a five month retrograde cycle. Since it’s a subtle aspect, it should pass almost unnoticed! Although Neptune is a karmic planet that tends to move in the background, it has a higher purpose to direct us spiritually, allowing us to connect with our higher self, as well as our magical powers. As it shifts direction, this is a wonderful time to explore our intuitive, psychic and mystical gifts.
It may feel like we’re running in circles under today’s Pisces Moon, but as it grounds itself in Aries tomorrow, we’ll have three days to gather our wits about us, and prepare for Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend. We’ll greet the traditional ‘Black Friday’ shopping rush under a Taurus Moon, which bodes well for finding great bargains or regrouping after over-doing it on Thursday.
Our best bet this weekend is to focus on intellectual and social pursuits, as the Neptune shift on Saturday and the Gemini Moon on Sunday encourages thinking and dreaming big!
Astrological Forecast November 16 – 22, 2020
The Sun will complete its cycle through Scorpio this week, moving into Sagittarius on Saturday, and kicking off the official start of the holiday season. The Moon travels through Sagittarius on Monday, then enters Capricorn on Tuesday, where it will remain until Thursday. This will create one of the most productive weeks we’ve had in a while, and since Thanksgiving is next week in the United States, and the holiday season will kick in right after that, this is the week to get all that unfinished work and overdue projects completed, or at least advanced to a level where it feels manageable through the end of the year.
The Aquarius Moon will take us into the weekend, urging us to prepare for the social activities ahead. If you’re planning a big holiday dinner, double-check to make sure you’ve invited everyone you want there, and if you’re aiming for a more quiet, peaceful and calorie-light day off, this is the time to set that into motion as well. Doing things differently is a theme of Aquarius, so if you’re ready to start a new holiday tradition, or ignore tradition altogether, you can still work an attitude and sense of gratitude into your world.
Venus will move into Scorpio on Saturday, adding to the spiritual tone of the weekend. And with the Moon moving into Pisces on Sunday, it will be easy to hear what your intuition is telling you. Listening to your gut will take you exactly where you want to go!
Halloween Is A Good Time To Ponder The Afterlife
All of us have lost, or will in time lose someone very dear to us. Like it or not, all of us also have to ponder the concept of life after death at some point in our life. Some of us have very strong beliefs on the subject, one way or the other. We either believe in the afterlife, or we do not.
For me the answer is simple and easy. I strongly believe, because of both my personal and professional experiences. For example, I have been visited many times by my grandparents, and I have communicated with many loved ones in spirit in my daily work, when I do readings for my clients.
My grandma often communicates with me in the dream state. She tends to show up when I least expect it, usually to give me a guiding message or to warn me about something. She always has been a worrier, in this life and the next! Right up to the very day she departed this life, she was telling us what to do to keep safe, and she was always giving us good advice. She is very wise.
I was asking her just the other day to give me a sign that she was around, and sure enough, she did. But this time she did not show up in a dream. She spoke to me…through a teddy bear! Yes, indeed.
It is one of those plush toys that makes a cute kissing sound and says, “I love you very much,” when you squeeze it. I was in the tub and this little teddy bear was right next to me, on top of a shelf. After drawing the bath, I was leaning back in the soothing, warm water, letting out a sigh of relief that a long day was over. Next thing you know, this teddy bear goes off on its own, making the kissing sounds and saying I love you, over and over. I knew right away that it was grandma making contact.