life lessons
Jupiter, Pluto And The Judgment Of Solomon
One of my favorite astrologers, Christopher Renstrom, is an uber-wise storyteller who has a knack for bringing profound astrological messages to life. He recently spoke about the separating Jupiter-Pluto energies, likening both Jupiter and Pluto to judges: Jupiter symbolizing Zeus, the benevolent King of Mount Olympus, and Pluto to Hades, his brother, the King of the Underworld.
In many ways these energies are opposite to one another, one reigning in the light (Jupiter), the other in the dark at night, beneath the surface of things (Pluto). Yet, both kings preside in judgment over matters brought to their attention.
Christopher went on to relay the story of The Judgement of Solomon from the Hebrew Bible, in which Solomon rules between two women both claiming to be the mother of a particular child. The explained that this story beautifully exemplifies Jupiter and Pluto in their role as judges over life and death.
In the story, two women had given birth, but tragically one of the babies did not survive when the mother accidentally rolled over on the child in her sleep. In the morning, she secretly switched the two babies, giving the deceased newborn to the other mother. This mother awoke and found the lifeless child, but knew this wasn’t her baby. She knew the living child belonged to her instead, but the other mother denied this and wouldn’t give up the living child.
The case went before King Solomon, who agreed to listen to anyone’s complaint, no matter what walk of life they came from. And so, each mother, in-turn, argued her side, with no corroborating witnesses to back them up.
Solomon listened intently, then asked for a sword. He then ordered the living child be cut in two, with one half handed to each of the mothers as a fair resolution of the dispute. But the true mother of the living baby implored the king not to kill the innocent child, but instead willingly relinquished the baby to the other mother. The illegitimate mother, however, demanded the child be killed so no one would have it, dispensing her own morbid sense of justice.
Karma, Dharma Or Lesson?
Karma is defined as the sum of our actions which will determine our fate or destiny. I choose to see karma as a reprimand from the Universe. We can see how people who are uncaring or cruel in their words or actions will suffer a fate similar to the those they have been unfeeling towards.
A good example of this is Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge was a slave driver, never had a good word for anyone, saw the worst in every situation whether it benefited him or not. The ghosts who came to visit him in the night showed him what his fate would be because of his thoughts and actions.
Dharma is defined as the principles that regulate the cosmic order or purifying the souls of human beings. I choose to see dharma as the other side of karma. That’s not to say that karma is negative, but that dharma is more positive, and the more we strive for the positive, the more we live in the light, the more we align with the Universe, the more dharma we incur. The easiest way to incur dharma is to live your life in a “’ it forward’ sort of way. Do for others just for the sake of doing, not for whatever you think will come to you because of your good works.
Then we have lessons. I believe that when we choose to be born, we contract with deity, spirit guides and certain people to learn certain lessons while we are here in this life. A lot of times, the relationship is karmic in nature, a situation in a past life that you need to do over, and most of the people involved now were involved then.
I’ve discovered in my years of reading people that we learn the best about ourselves, our limits, our feelings, our capacity to love, while in relationships with others. Whether sibling, child, parent, co-worker or mate, the lesson learned in the relationship will shape the way we deal with others for the rest of this life, and possibly into the next life.
The Secret To Attracting A Magical Relationship
Prior to calling a psychic, you may have a certain level of worry or anxiety around a particular topic, or you might be given a nudge by your spirit guides to get insight and clarity to help you move forward toward our goal. Many people ask me in readings if I see something manifesting in their life they have wanted for a long time, or the successful outcome of something they are currently hoping to achieve.
A psychic advisor can confirm if you are on track and anchored in our power. When I do a reading, I can see a person’s soul purpose and where they currently are on their spiritual path. I can also see the likelihood of an event happening or not, based on previous events they’ve been through, or perhaps a current spiritual lesson they are undergoing. However, what I find callers don’t always realize is that for some of the questions they ask in readings they already hold the key to not only the answers, but also how to make things happen that they may be leaving up to fate.
Whether something is going to happen in your life, or not, is mostly determined by your own thoughts and actions. For instance, if someone calls me for a reading and wants to know if things will move forward with a particular person they are romantically interested in, there are many ways the situation can potentially play out. And the outcome will depend mostly on the caller’s own thoughts, ideas, beliefs, fears, energy frequency, and behavior patterns.
The early stages of a relationship and dynamics of love can be a funny thing. I liken it to ‘reverse psychology’ in the etheric world. I say this because what I find works most often in attracting the love of our potential partner and get their attention is somewhat counter-intuitive to what we might assume.
For example, the old saying it is best to ‘play hard to get,’ holds far more value than we may think. Granted, it does take a lot of self-discipline to pretend we’re not as interested in someone as we really are, but I can guarantee you that energetically it will pay off.
The Many Deaths And Rebirths In Your Lifetime
You have already died many deaths. Many versions of you will ‘die’ in this lifetime. And, many versions of you will be reborn.
Of course, you have also passed through the veil between this life and the next for many past lives. But in this case, I am referring to ‘deaths’ we suffer in this lifetime.
We can identify these dramatic changes, transitions, shifts, or ‘deaths’ in our astrological chart. Your Saturn Return, for example, occurs around the time of our 30th birthday. Our Saturn Return forces us to take an honest look at everything we may have been avoiding until now. It forces us to make much needed changes and improvements. It is the ending of our youth and the birth of our new adult self.
We do not remain the same person throughout our lifetime. Our goals, ideas, and life lessons all serve their purpose until they are phased out to let in new information, new ideas, and new opportunities for growth. If we do this right, life keeps changing us. We continue to grow and expand.
For this purpose, it is wise to interact with people who have different beliefs, practice other religions, and have other political affiliations compared to our own. And more importantly, to really listen to them. We must allow all the information in and trust our intuition to let our beliefs and understanding of life continuously evolve.
Our life experiences constantly challenge and change our ideas, goals, and views. We are constantly shedding our old skin. Just as our body changes every day we are alive, so does our soul. We take in every experience, whether we know it or not. It’s like adding ingredients to a recipe.
Embrace these deaths and births along your life path. They are needed for your soul growth and spiritual expansion. I’ve witnessed over the years some people really fighting change and resisting growth…and it always makes them miserable. Fluidity and acceptance are spiritually essential. Simplicity will bring you inner peace.
Stay True To Your Own Best Karma
You may have heard of someone ‘getting their karma’ for something bad they have done, or of wishing bad karma on another for their transgressions. Most people use the word ‘karma’ in this negative sense, usually believing that a person that hurt them will be on the receiving end of the same hurt (or worse) because of their deeds.
But wishing negative karma on another is a dangerous practice. What we think, say and do tend to come back to us, instead of another person. So, when you say something like, “Oh, I can’t wait until they get their karma and someone breaks their heart like they broke mine,” you have in fact declared it for yourself (again).
Karma happens when it happens. Never, ever wish it on another in a negative manner. Your thoughts, words and actions determine what you attract to yourself.
Karma can instead be invoked in an amazingly positive way. Wish everyone good things, positive actions, and uplifting results in their life – even those who wronged you.
Congratulate that person who got the promotion that you wanted. Offer the person who stole from you a blessing. Forgive the person who broke your heart and wish them only happiness in their future life.
This will open the flood gates of good reactions to your actions. There is a cause and effect for everything, so the moment you choose to you’re your thoughts, words and actions all positive and loving, that is what you will attract in return.
Empowering Life Lessons From My Abusive Father
My father Jim had to grow up quickly in the tough pre-war years. He was the eldest of six children and he did not have an easy childhood, nor tolerant parents.
But life became even more challenging for Jim as he reached adulthood. My parents were married at the age of 21 and had three kids by 23, and another baby at 34.
Jim faced many challenges. As a result, to vent his frustration and process all the stress, he often took it out on those closest to him, namely his wife and children.
Let’s just say my father was not always the ideal husband and parent. It became so bad by the time I was an adult that he would do whatever he could to disrupt my life and my family in any way that you might imagine. The sad part was that he actually wanted to hurt us, as doing so gave him a bizarre sense of satisfaction and control over those closest to him.
I first became fully aware of my father’s desire to disempower his kids when I was about 22 years old. The year was 1982, and jobs were very hard to come by in the United Kingdom in those days. I had an office job but wanted something better. So, I decided to attend school for a year to learn shorthand and typing at the local technical college.
One day, I asked my dad if I could get a ride with him to college, because I had to sit an important exam at 2pm that day. He said I need not worry, as he would drop me off in plenty of time. But then he proceeded to make every excuse not to leave the house!
By quarter to two, I started to panic, as I could not possibly walk or catch a bus from my house to the college with so little time. At ten minutes to two, he finally agreed to take me to sit the exam, but then when we got in the car, he said he needed to go to the garage for gas. I looked at the fuel gauge and saw the car’s tank was full.
I suddenly realized he did not want me to sit the exam, as he did not want me to pass it and better myself and become more independent. Thankfully, his sabotage attempt failed, as I did pass the exam and went on to get a higher paying job.
Nagging Thoughts Are Life Lessons
Sometimes I do it too – we all do it. We sit there and rehash stuff in our minds…over and over. We beat ourselves up and say things like, “If only I would have done this”, or “If only I had not said that”.
This kind of thinking really is a waste of time. It can be very draining to sit and analyze things gone by and worry about the past.
Of course, it is certainly better to move with some discernment and caution, while we are going about our day, so we don’t make unnecessary mistakes or fall victim to this kind of regretful thinking later. But it is also important to know that no one is perfect.
Some go about their days not caring what they do or say, and neither do they ever feel the need to do this kind of obsessive thinking about the past. But the majority of us sometimes wonder if we could have done things differently, or feel the need to hold ourselves accountable for every thought, word, action and deed – and that is why we tend to go over things, time and time again.
When you find yourself engaging in this kind of thinking, just stop doing it. Thoughts that just replay events over and over again in your mind is such a waste of energy. Instead consider for a minute how the relevant events are actually a wonderful learning experience.
Those thoughts are there, bugging you, as an opportunity for growth. Ask yourself what you will do or say differently next time, and then you can go about the rest of your day with inner peace and comfort, knowing you that you have gained valuable new knowledge from the experience, and now you can turn it into wisdom for the future. People who learn from themselves and their actions can truly smile, knowing that they can ‘cruise’ along this cosmic wave called life at a higher altitude and higher level of thinking.
