Radiant Living

On Tuesday (10 July) soon after midday, Mercury shifted into direct motion. I decided to wait until after Mercury went direct to send out this e-news, anticipating you’d be more likely to receive it without glitches I know many people have been looking forward to Mercury shifting direct after a few weeks of communication or transport chaos.
 
Yet as ever, there’s always more interesting planetary alignments to egg us on, and there are definitely some strong ones in July. At each alignment we have the opportunity to either evolve or devolve, and sometimes a bit of ‘devolving’ is exactly what’s needed to help us locate and heal unresolved situations from the past. On 14 July, past issues, especially to do with family, childhood or support needs, are awakened by a New Moon in Cancer. Yet being a new moon, the universe also awaits your input for fresh beginnings.
 
Each month there’s a new moon in a different zodiac sign until all 12 receive new moon awakenings. Every new moon offers a fresh start in its zodiac sign’s related themes. With a new moon in Cancer, it’s a perfect time to clarify the support situations that nourish you and to then negotiate personal needs with family, friends or colleagues. Often this might require reflecting on past support situations that haven’t worked and having faith that your current and future needs can be met even if your past needs were not. You might like to use the New Moon in Cancer to clear stagnant energy in the home or any other familiar environment. If you’d like a tip or two, consider these ideas: first do a bit of good old-fashioned dusting and scrubbing to clear stagnant energy on the physical level; put away objects or photos that have outgrown their current meaning; open windows & doors to let fresh air in; try some new age purifying pleasures such as burning oils or incense, creating sound vibrations through music or bells, lighting salt crystal lamps to release negative ions or dousing the atmosphere in essential oil sprays.
 
The energies remain strong for clearing past situations until the end of July. An intensely powerful alignment takes place on 17 July between Pluto and the Galactic Centre (GC). On this day Pluto makes its second exact hit to the GC. The first hit was back in December. If you feel drawn to read what I wrote then, you might like to check out this link. As Pluto aligns with the GC approximately only once every 248 years, this is quite an attention-seeking transit. The last hit will be in October this year. Over 2007 we can expect to have doors close on us, yet new doors will also open. There will be times when we feel we are sitting in the ‘dark’ or the ‘void’ of the unknown. The challenge will be to make it as warm and cosy as possible in that space until the new emerges.
 
A project known as ‘Fire the Grid’ has been planned for the day Pluto and the Galactic Centre align. ‘Fire the Grid’ is a global earth healing project that Shelley Yates has been preparing for the past two years. The catalyst for her project was the miraculous experience of herself and her son not only surviving, but also thriving after both clinically dying from drowning. As far as I’m aware, Shelley doesn’t consciously know that the 17th, the chosen day for ‘Fire the Grid’ is so astrologically charged. The synchronicity of ‘Fire the Grid’ with the alignment of Pluto to the Galactic Centre is worth a moment’s reflection. Pluto is about death and rebirth, the Galactic Centre is about death and rebirth, Shelley’s global project was triggered by her profound death and rebirth experiences, and the intention of Fire the Grid is to rebirth our planet from a possible near death experience through climate change. I highly recommend you read her story at www.firethegrid.com and consider participating in the global meditation.
 
Yet if this is not your cup of tea, 17 July is still a profound date to reflect seriously upon situations in your life that are no longer working for you and to make quantum leap choices about new directions. Don’t worry too much if you miss the actual date of 17 July because all of July is infused with these energies. It’s generally accepted within psychology and healing frameworks that we can only move on once we’ve fully acknowledged and embraced our pain. If we keep avoiding pain, we keep getting stuck. Embracing pain doesn’t mean getting trapped in it and having to relive trauma. The goal is to ride pain like surfing a wave and then to move forward. If you’re feeling trapped, perhaps use July’s Cancer energy to play some watery sad songs, read old letters, go through photos, and allow emotion to ebb and flow in order to enjoy being released from the past. While you’re at it, find and reclaim treasures from the past just as you might if diving for precious sea shells in a gently rocking ocean.
 
On 28 July Venus shifts into Retrograde motion, yet given how important it is to focus on the Pluto to Galactic Centre alignment this month, I’ll discuss that in next month’s e-news. Finally on 30 July there’s a Full Moon in Aquarius. The zodiac sign Aquarius is about embracing the new, and full moons are times for clear insight. After spending July dusting out cobwebs, use the Aquarian energy to encourage and motivate yourself to embrace who you truly are. Stretch beyond your usual thought processes by allowing visions of a new future for yourself and others to break through. A downside of the Aquarian energy is that we can expect ourselves to be already miraculously transformed into future ideals. A way to ground and temper this impossible idealism is to bring dreams back to the present and start taking small steps towards reaching them. In the meantime, announce the truth of who you are, even if it’s only to your journal, or whispered as a thought in your mind. Yet the more powerfully you speak your truth, the more certain the universe can be that you mean business and can effortlessly build momentum towards activating your dreams.
 
Whether you enjoy or endure the inner resilience that July promotes, keep in mind that each of us is being awakened with the ‘Dawning of the Age of Aquarius’ and its promise of a radiant future.