November Energy Astrology Reading

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Energy Astrology: November Column

Lassoing the Stars for a Better Life

By Cyndi Dale

What’s Noteworthy in November?

Sometimes life seems to go backward. You’re running the race only to find yourself behind the starting line again. You finish a project and it needs to be redone. Yet when doors close you have the opportunity to rest. Perhaps a new door or a window opens. Maybe the clarity of time adds the spark needed for inspiration.

      In September, you concentrated in establishing Vision for your life. In October, you summoned Courage and swung into action. November invites a different response to life, one of reconfiguring and reconsidering, watching and waiting, healing and contemplating. What heavenly happenings are so welcoming of inner growth? Well, we have two planets going into retrograde in November: Mars and Mercury. When planets are retrograde, they seemingly move backward, asserting less authority and thus inviting pandemonium. So expect a few messes. Remember, though, that disorder must occur to create a new order! The fact that Jupiter is in Scorpio, the sign of transformation, means that you can use retrograde chaos to your advantage. You can eliminate energies that don’t serve you and invite forward ones that will. Behind these sky omens is an important spiritual energy, available to assist in personal and even global metamorphosis: that of Peace. Peace can make November noteworthy beyond belief!

The Spiritual Backdrop

Spiritual energy is all around us. There are many types of spiritual energies, but the most powerful are spiritual truths. If you can embrace the essence of a truth, you can absorb its light into your system and then harness its energy for your own purposes.

      The astronomical shifts in November invite the truth of Peace. Peace is little understood. Most people don’t understand that Peace is a truth unto itself, and doesn’t need to be partnered with activities like protesting, prayer, or passivity. Have you ever really felt peaceful, or “full of peace?” Have you ever met a peaceful person, one who glows with serenity? There’s no doing in Peace. At that same time, Peace is one of the most powerful energies in the world, and it can get people to do almost anything.

      Peace has two components. On one hand, it is a nothing. On the other hand, it is a something. As a “nothing,” Peace is the absence of violence, disturbance, or conflict. It’s hard to find a spot in the world bereft of cruelty. Does this mean that we can’t achieve peace or be peaceful until the world is free of war and strife? Absolutely not! Peace is a spiritual truth and all truths must first be assumed internally before we can create them externally. If you could strip yourself from internal negativity and violence, you would then be at peace ­ and in Peace. You would be safe within yourself no matter what is happening outside of you.

      When we feel safe, we relax. We act like ourselves. We can confidently express our needs, desires, and abilities. We can also allow ourselves to trust other people. By holding the hands ­ or hearts ­ of those around us, we can achieve joy and companionship. As a “something,” Peace is therefore the energy of communion, of shared trust and love. When you hold Peace inside, you can better connect with others.

      How do we move to this exciting state of grace? Well, you most certainly can’t wait for tranquility. The world is full of turmoil, and best guess, so is your life. As a mother, I often complain that I put in a full day before 9 a.m. It’s now 5 a.m. and I’m writing this column, having already let the dogs out and then forced them back inside (as the puppy, whose now going on two but hasn’t matured an iota, insists on seeing every squirrel or gopher as a playmate.) When finished with my writing, I’ll feed the turtle and then check work messages, talk to my assistant, pick up the house, exercise, do E mails, call a couple of friends, and then begin the insane process of making sure everyone eats at least one bite of breakfast while I’m repacking the lunches (which have by now been checked and evaluated.) Finally I’ll shove everyone out the door with at least a coat and one mitten and homework (completed a minute before, mind you.) If there’s time, I might then brush my hair before clients arrive.

      Now, that sounds like anything but a peaceful morning, but the thing is that I consider my life to be replete with Peace. Yes, there’s an infernal amount of noise and commotion, laughing and nagging, but there’s very little true conflict in my house. No one gets to be mean ­ and everyone is encouraged to act naturally. Within these walls, there is acceptance, therefore peace. There is freedom with safety. You can achieve the same state within your body.

Astronomical Energies: What’s Up That’s Coming Down

There are two planets in retrograde or seeming reversal this month. These retrogrades occur on the backdrop of Jupiter in Scorpio. What does this mean for you and your life? What energy centers or chakras are most affected? Let’s skip down the Primrose Path of Change and find out!

First, a note on retrograde planets. Do planets really move backward? No. They appear to move in reverse during certain times. The issue has to do with the time it takes Earth versus other planets to orbit around the Sun. Mercury, for instance, is closer to the Sun than is the Earth. Three to four times a year, it seemingly “speeds by” the Earth ­ at least from an external point of view. From the viewpoint of the Earth, Mercury will seem to move backwards. During the retrograde period, a planet’s energy is less available to the Earth, which causes destabilization in the areas that it affects. Where there’s less control there’s more chaos. You can expect more pandemonium in the areas usually managed by the retrograde planet. That’s why people always sigh when a significant planet goes retrograde.

Mars and the Martians: Mars has actually been retrograde since October 1^st, and won’t start to swing forward until December 9^th. Mars is a first chakra planet, the energy center that manages primal needs, including food, touch, sex, air, and money as the provider of the basics. Mars gives you get up and go energy, so when Mars is flat, so are you. You might find that important projects stand still, as might your plans. Interesting, Mars is also known as the god of war in the Greek pantheon. Your tendency will be to battle your way through November, forcing goals forward. Stop that! You’ll only succeed in burning out your adrenals, the endocrine glands associated with the first chakra, and causing physical stress. Sit back. Think. Maybe have a laugh or two. Exercises that will help you actually use this doldrums period for success are outlined at the end of this article.

Mercury goes militant: Mercury starts a backward slide on November 14^h, going straight again on December 3^rd. Mercury is the planet of communication and affects all areas of the same, including both hard and soft communication, from computer technology to interpersonal relations. Mercury retrograde calls forth the “gizmo gremlins,” as I call them. These tiny green guys love to hassle with your telephone wires, computer programs, and mailbox. Last time Mercury was in retrograde, my computer crashed, and I’m still getting back on my Internet server.

   A retrograde period of this nature also stirs up inner and inter-forms of

communication. Communication is ruled by your fifth chakra. Also known as the throat center, the back of this chakra attracts energetically based messages, such as inaudible, otherworldly, or divine guidance. You express your ideas or those that you’ve internalized from other sources through your mouth, which is part of the front side of this chakra. There are two basic rules about the throat chakra:

   - What went in is still in there.

   - What goes in will come out.

If people were mean or cruel when you were growing up, the negative input remains. You are probably still “at war” with yourself, and might project some of this negativity onto other people. Certainly you’ll attract negative people or feedback, which further reinforces your low self-concept. Negative thoughts, words, or attitudes are violent. They oppose Peace and encourage mistrust of your true self or of other people. Mercury retrograde is an ideal time to purge negative programs and learn how to express yourself more freely.

Jupiter Transforms ­ Then Leaps! For most of November, Jupiter lingers in Scorpio, the place of transformation. Jupiter is a happy-go-luck energy, which loves joy and fun. Retrograde planets will challenge you to seek sparkles in the smoke, as you should. At the end of the month, you’ll be motivated to take action, especially in areas like work, as Jupiter transfers into Uranus, but for now, consider smelling a few roses. The creation of Peace begins inside not outside of us.

      And how best can you use November’s cosmic occurrences to forge a peaceful nature and life? Let’s look.

Lassoing Peace in Your Life

      In general, Peace is a seventh chakra energy. Your seventh chakra, known as your spiritual center, lies on the top of your head. When babies are born, this center is still physically open. It’s known as the “soft spot.” This physical doorway helps a child’s soul retain full connection with God during the early weeks of transition from spirit to material. The connection doesn’t disappear with the closing of the soft spot, but most of us stop sensing our true bond with the Divine over time.

      The issuance of Peace invites us to fully embrace and realize our connection with God’s Spirit. When assured of God’s presence and grace, we feel safe. We are safe, for we have an energy greater than any other to draw upon in need. Safe, we go about fulfilling our one true purpose, which is to be who we really are. Such is the definition of peace.

      How can backward communication and foiled plans help us accept God’s Peace? Mercury’s desultory behavior turns our communication efforts into noodles. It also enlightens our negative programs and beliefs, critical thinking and attitudes, and issues of dishonesty and lying. This is great! Can you imagine how your life would change if you could rip these self-defeating ideas out of your life forever? You’d be free ­ not only to be yourself, but also to receive the messages that you really need to get through your fifth chakra backside! I’m talking about the information and direction that comes directly from God. It is possible to link straight to the top and download from there ­ and only there.

      The same type of possibility is available for your first chakra, the area most affected by Mars. Located in the hip area, this chakra governs all your basic life needs. Imagine that you are currently running on “your own steam.” Sure, you can get ahead in life but it’s a lot of work. What if you could plug right into a greater source. How about “The Source?” What if your efforts at making money, tending business, exercising, partnering, and all other aspects of everyday life could be fueled by God energy?

      This is the month to accomplish both “trade outs,” to exchange negative thinking for divine knowing and exhausting efforts for God’s support.

      To achieve these goals, you might do the following:

1. Ask. In the Bible, Jesus insists that if we seek, we shall find. If we knock, the door shall be open. If we ask, we shall receive. The key is that we must seek, knock, and ask with thorough intention. We must really really want to change and we must really really want God’s help. Most of us stay stuck because of an unconscious fear of the unknown. The problems we have might bite, but at least we understand them. Can you truly tolerate a good life? An easier life? Then ask to release your old patterns and accept Peace, but do so with all your heart.
2. Decide. Don’t just intend a change, MAKE THE DECISION. Intention alone will take you nowhere. Let’s say you’re on a diet and out for dinner. You intend to skip dessert, but your host serves a chocolate cake to die for. What are you going to do? Be honest! Now let’s say you had decided (versus intended) to skip dessert. Armed with this decision, every move you took that evening would have supported your earlier decision. Probably, you would have informed the host you were on a diet and asked to be skipped during the dessert service. Decide to release your old programs and issues. Decide to accept God’s Peace, and it shall be yours.
3. Use the negativity. Here’s a great way to exhume those old issues in a short period of time. Accept any and all problems that you have, and assume full responsibility. If life is tough, you’ve made an unconscious decision to play with cherry pits instead of cherries. Well, join the human race. So have most of the rest of us. So get over the shame and guilt and decide that you want the rest of your life full of grace and joy. Instead of ignoring your negative or self-defeating tendencies, ask God instead to compress them into a small ball. Now ask God to roll this ball (rather like a lint brush) throughout your body, mind, and soul, gathering the beliefs, emotions, memories, or attitudes causing you problems. When you feel finished, simply ask God to take away the ball.

   It’s now time to fill the empty spots. Concentrate on your seventh chakra and request God’s light of Peace. You’ll see or feel a rush from the heavens; I usually experience a waterfall of light. Allow the incoming Peace to wash and cleanse, and then fill and nurture you. You are now in the flow of Peace ­ permanently.

4. Pray. To pray is to talk with God. You don’t need to take out some sort of prayer manual and make this a big deal. Just converse ­ anywhere and anyway. When you’re in the car, in bed. When you’re brushing your teeth, on the exercise bike. Ask for Peace. Then follow on with meditation, which is receiving from God. Again, you can meditate anyway you want. In fact, try meditating for one second. Simply announce that you’re ready to receive God’s Peace ­ and then let God choose the moments or methods for delivering it to you! The more we turn over to a Higher Power, the more that gets accomplished.
5. Have fun. Laughter really is the best medicine, and it also makes us more likable people. If Mars or Mercury play a little havoc with your hair, how about a little humor? Most of us are control freaks. We really think that if we put our brush on the table it should be there when we turn away and then back again. Careful about such assumptions. There’s a big world out there and we see very little of it. By laughing at the jokes of the universe, we access the trust and faith necessary to accept the gifts of God.