gratitude
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!
The Virus That Brought A New Lease On Life
I have been asking spirit to help me better understand the deeper meaning of the COVID-19 virus emerging at this time in human history. This is how it has been explained to me.
The surfacing of the novel coronavirus is unfortunate, and in many ways tragic, but it also has value. It is teaching mankind many important spiritual and life lessons, including the value of slowing down, appreciating life, and loving each other more.
Modern society has been rapidly expanding and moving increasingly faster and faster since the 1918 influenza pandemic – the most severe pandemic in recent history. In our modern world we have grown accustomed to constantly rushing, and we seldom, if ever, take time to stop and smell the roses.
My spirit guides showed me that it is like a car driving over the speed limit all day, every day…until it burns out. We have been speeding through life. Rushing here, rushing there. No time to rest, no time to prepare healthy food, no quality time with our loved ones, no gratitude or appreciation for the blessings we receive, and also no respect for Mother Nature.
The Divine Creator decorated this place we call home with some pretty amazing scenery and life forms: oceans, mountains, forests, rivers, deserts, wild life and beautiful flora. Yet, we choose to speed by without noticing much of it.
Creating Space For Divine Love
Love has a life of its own. In its true, pure form and spiritual essence, love is a transcendent energy emanating from God – the supreme loving and lovable Source. When love descends from this uppermost divine realm of origin and takes seed in our heart, we can know it is an act, and element of grace that we receive.
When the seed of love is planted in our heart, it is to be watered, nurtured, cultivated, and protected with our life and soul. Love needs space to grow, and nourishment to flourish. It is the quality of consciousness that creates this space and atmosphere for love to thrive.
When tending to the garden of the heart, we must first examine and prepare the foundation. Just as flowering plants would struggle to grow in dry soil, so too will love not readily emerge from a hardened heart. It requires softness, flexibility and receptivity. Love, likewise, needs a base that is rich in qualities to give. Soil stripped of nutrients does not foster growth, nor does a heart that is deplete of a generous, giving spirit.
Furthermore, there are weeds of unwanted things that must be removed to allow for love to expand. Lust, anger, greed, selfishness has no place in the garden of love. Love in its genuine spiritual essence will not take root in an atmosphere surrounded by manipulation, anger, resentment or narcissism.
Again, love has a life of its own. It cannot be pushed or pulled, or ‘gamed’ into being. To truly experience its pure divine scent and flavor, the heart must be open, soft, receptive, giving, honest, respectful, and devoted to the supreme, eternal, transcendent, loving Source.
Open-Minded Curiosity Is The Key To A Happy, Healthy Life
A client asked the other day how I keep my immunity up during these challenging times, and if there is anything special one can do to stay mentally healthy. My answer was simple. You simply need to keep an open mind, and have passion for life.
Working with spirit has taught me over the years to live my life wholeheartedly, with daily gratitude, and with an open mind and a healthy curiosity. I am always eager to learn and experience new things. We are not meant to be constantly stuck in a rut, nor spend our lives in mediocre stagnation.
Just the other day, a friend told me that she thought I am the most imaginative and adventurous person she has ever met. I am always so optimistic and upbeat, she said, and she gets energy from me just by spending time with me.
She has also witnessed how positive things happen in my life through my spiritual practices. For example, I use certain crystals, visualizations and affirmations to bring about real change in my life – not only for myself, but also for others.
The more we are open-minded to explore new horizons, and learn new things, the more we allow positive, creative new energies to enter our reality, empowering us to achieve things that we otherwise wouldn’t – especially when we just sit around doing nothing.
You And Your Spirit Guides
We are all surrounded by spirit guides and angels. These otherworldly beings have been with us since birth, and it is their mission to protect and guide us. But who are they, exactly?
Depending on your primary energy (feminine, masculine, or non-binary) your guides will likely have similar forms of energies. These guides are loved ones and friends who have passed on and are awaiting rebirth. They may even have been animals or one of your pets in their former life.
Most of us have a main guide, plus others who play a secondary role. Some may be around us for our entire life, while others are temporary, or stay only for a specific purpose or to teach a specific lessons, or point the way to a specific destination or solution. The one thing all of them have in common is unconditional love and acceptance – the kind of caring that we often seek among the living, but only rarely find.
Guides are around us all the time, whether we are aware of them or not. They know us better than we know ourselves, and they are able to anticipate what we need.
How do we know they are there? For the most part, they are invisible to us, but can be sensed in other ways. Sudden flashes of inspiration, a favorite song playing when we turn on the radio, the feeling of a hand on your shoulder. Those are all a sure signs a spirit guide or guardian angel is speaking to you.
So, is it possible to communicate with these invisible spirit beings? Of course! Each time we pray or meditate, we are speaking to them. Silently asking for help will call them to our aid. Even if we engage in something meaningful to us, like our hobby or a creative pursuit, there is a dialogue with spirit guides, since they are the source of all inspiration. For some people, journaling, especially of their dreams, is a good way to listen to what their guides are communicating.
Manifesting – Does The Outcome Justify The Intention?
You probably know by now, from your personal experiences, that the metaphysical process of manifestation is not always cut-and-dried. Sometimes the results are disappointing, while at other times it truly is a matter of ‘careful what you wish for.’ One aspect of deliberate creating that I never before anticipated, was that it might bring up a personal moral dilemma! Let me explain.
When I was 11 years old, it was discovered that I needed glasses for better eyesight. Like any other normal child, I certainly was not happy about the situation. However, I was smart enough to recognize that it would make seeing the teacher’s writing on the school blackboard much easier, as well as enable me to recognize people and appreciate beautiful sights more readily.
So, I had no choice, but to put up with wearing those awful eyeglasses until I turned 16. It was at that time I started to work and earning my own money, which gave me the ability to make some important decisions for myself and determine what I could purchase on my own behalf.
A lot of people were beginning to wear tinted contact lenses at that time, so I decided I would also get on the bandwagon. Soon, I was exceptionally proud to transform my ordinary hazel eyes into an appealing vibrant green! However, the lenses on the market then were not as easy to wear as they are today. They were very inflexible and abrasive on the eyes and, even while being meticulous with its care, still very easy to tear.
I kept up with this struggle of constantly switching back and forth between lenses and eyeglasses, until many years later when I developed hypoglycemia. One of the side effects of this ailment is extremely dry eyes, and so my contact lens days were pretty much over. I simply gave up the idea and continued with regular eyeglasses for many years after.
Let’s Make The Most Of This Gift Of Time
There is a cheesy saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” It may be somewhat cheesy, but it is a brilliant metaphor. You still have those lemons. They are still terribly sour and inedible. But now you’ve added your own sweetness to them.
In recent months we have all suddenly been presented with a sometimes overwhelming new paradigm. Many of us are spending more time at home. Before the pandemic, many of us often wondered where our time went? If we only had more time!
This is especially true for those of us with young children. I have often said I feel like I only have 10-hour-days to fit everything into, including sleep, since my children were born.
It’s interesting to talk to my clients who are currently still going in to work, and often stressed for time, as compared to those clients who are fortunate to work from home, or have a reduced work schedule, or are currently unemployed. They are like parallel universes.
If you currently have the gift of time on your hands, make good use of it. It will lessen your depression and anxiety, and it will help you to think of this unusual time in our lives, which is only temporary, with more fondness and sentimentality. With the internet, so many options are open to us, and the possibilities are endless. Before all of this, I even learned how to crochet and knit online! I am now a very proud intermediate crocheter… and novice knitter.