Self-Help
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
The Spiritual Power Of Joy
I have decided that this year I would consciously invite more joy into my daily life. Joy is the feeling of happiness, pleasure or fulfillment that comes from having success, finding good fortune, or achieving a sense of well-being. The wonderful thing about joy is that it can be found in both large and small doses.
Joy is an enormously powerful spiritual force. Spontaneous laughter can shift a mood in an instant, and tears of joy come at moments that move us to our core. Joy is a state of mind that focuses on the present, despite our circumstances.
Joy brings renewed energy, a feeling of lightness to our body and mind. Suddenly there is enough energy to get things done that need to be done. Joy invites action, instead of procrastination, and encourages gratitude over envy, and peace over anger.
Joy lingers after the laughter and invites us to a state of mind that is peaceful, full of grace, ready to extend compassion, and find forgiveness. In a state of joy spontaneity comes easily, inspiration and intuitiveness peak, and our creativity flows.
Children are masters of demonstrating joy. They are comfortable living in the moment and not filtering out any opportunity to celebrate. They carry no baggage, or expectations. They are wonderful teachers of this powerful spiritual tool.
Anchor your soul purpose and choose conscious ways you can invite and practice joy in your daily life. Even a small dose will do, and it may lead you to seek out other experiences that resonate with your spirit and add to your experience of joy. Notice what makes you smile. Pay attention to the person, the activity or the situation that uplifts your spirit. Stop and savor the feeling.
Simplicity and joy go hand in hand, so don’t overlook the little things. Practice smiling! Smiling releases endorphins which create that sensation of relaxation and happiness.
Astrological Forecast February 8 – 14, 2021
Happy Chinese New Year! The year 2021 is the Year of the Ox that now heralds in a more stable energy, as we leave behind the Year of the Rat and all the troubles it brought our way. Staying grounded, being proactive, and recreating our lives from the ground up will be the theme this year.
In 2020, many of us discovered we had built our ‘homes’ out of straw, which upended our lives during last year’s pandemic. So, we’re now ready to buckle down and create a more solid foundation. As we start laying the bricks for our future, we’ll discover new ways to improve our health, our finances, and our environment.
The Chinese New Year is officially celebrated on Thursday, so in combination with the New Moon, this week should have us ready to recommit to our resolutions and start anew into 2021
If there’s anything you simply have to get done this week, move on it Monday and Tuesday, when the Moon is in no-nonsense Capricorn. Once Wednesday hits we’ll be under the influence of the unpredictable Aquarius Moon, and when it culminates in an Aquarius new Moon on Wednesday, we’ll be off and running in all directions!
We can take a breather Friday and Saturday as the Moon drifts through spiritual Pisces, regrouping and relaxing after a fairly demanding week. Sunday’s Aries Moon will put us in the mood to play, so grab your favorite person and get out and have some fun!
Now Is A Hopeful Time For Your Future Happiness
When 2021 finally rolled around a month ago, many of us expressed a great feeling of relief and welcomed the New Year with open arms. The year 2020 was extremely challenging, to say the least. But now we are already one month into a hopeful new year. At last, with some light appearing at the end of the tunnel, we can begin to feel a renewed sense of hope and optimism.
However, we will have to muster some more patience and courage. We can still not let down our guard for the foreseeable future. For the sake of our loved ones and our communities, we must continue to follow the latest health and safety protocols for just a while longer.
In addition, we should continue to give what we can from where we are and with what we have, whether this is in the form of financial donations, personal support for those who are still struggling, or healing thoughts for our family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and, indeed, the entire planet. We must also empathize with those who have climbed steep mountains over the past year and see how we might help them with their journeys.
For the wise and sensible the coming months can be a time of great personal growth and inner reflection. We can pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished thus far and have overcome under great duress. We can now look forward with more confidence. We have, after all, come this far!
We must now gather our thoughts and feelings and focus on what we can do to generate genuine happiness, well-being and fulfillment for ourselves and others in the future. It is okay if others do not yet share the same optimism and positive outlook for the future. They must walk their own path. Their negativity must not stop us from learning, growing, expanding and loving life.
Astrological Forecast February 1 – 7, 2021
The fixed air sign energy of Aquarius will be intensely felt this month with Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, as well as asteroid Pallas, all gathering to create a great stellium in the sign of Aquarius. A stellium occurs when three or more planets cluster together in a single zodiac sign to create an unusual energy blend. To further fan the flames, Mercury if currently also in retrograde.
It remains to be seen exactly how this major stellium will affect both global events and our personal lives, but whatever the impact…it will be profound, progressive, even groundbreaking. Wherever this stellium lands in your chart this month, it will invite deep thought, inspired new ideas and the urge to innovate and be experimental in those aspects of your life. However, be careful not to let the stubborn, obsessive side of Aquarius rule your mental state. If you were born under one of the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, you can expect to be especially impacted by this seven planet cluster. So, fasten your seatbelt, it’s going to be an interesting month!
To make things even more demanding, this week starts off with the planets taking sides, as the free-wheeling Aquarius Sun squares off with staid and steady Mars in Taurus. Avoiding the urge to stand your ground, and deciding who’s right and who’s wrong, will be essential this week, as the lines get blurred and realities shift. There’s an old saying that if you can’t beat them, join them, but before you take sides one way or the other, ask yourself this: would you rather be right, or happy?
Venus will arrive on the doorstep of Aquarius today, another no-holds-bar placement that will require us to stay patient, alert, and open to the possibilities of finding a middle ground. With all this in mind, at least lean into the calm and harmonious Libra Moon that sails through the heavens Monday and Tuesday.
With a Scorpio Moon overhead on Wednesday and Thursday, the answer to any conflicts we encounter may be to go within, turn toward spiritual guidance and allow the Universe to take the reins. Things will settle down over the weekend for a moment of respite, as the Moon skips through light-hearted Sagittarius on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.