I apologize for missing last week’s forecast. I had just returned from my vacation and then two hurricanes hit Florida, the second hitting St Petersburg, Florida, where I live half of the year. I needed to go down there to assess the damage and help my daughter, Alexandra, who lives there full time. Going down there immediately cut off the possibility of worsening conditions in my condominium and her home. Damages were manageable, lost a bunch of water-logged rugs from windows that didn’t hold (those area rugs saved me), the roof in the hallway between my condo and my neighbors broke through, leaked into our two units on the top floor, but, still, we were blessed in that those I love were safe. The rest of this lovely city fared less fortunately. Still, the amazing thing to me was that after the storm hit, the next day or two, life was getting back to where it was before – I drove around to find gas, to find groceries and saw various signs outside of Culver’s that said, “Be Kind” and this is what I experienced. Kindness and consideration from my neighbors and strangers.
My neighbor, Anne, and my daughter pitched in to help me clear out the heavily soaked new area rugs that saved my place as the water came in from the older windows. Other neighbors cleared the broken glass on the ground and roof, pitching in where other neighbors needed help. I sat next to two families at Mazzaro’s market the day after I got there. Their attitudes were fantastic. Calm. Accepting. They lost everything up at St Petersburg beach and the other family, whose newly remodeled home was destroyed one week before they moved in, was startling. Their attitude? Grateful that their loved ones were alive. Bottom line: those we love are the most important.
When tragedy strikes, it is amazing how everyone pulls together. I have pondered this specific issue for many years asking myself the unanswerable question, why do we keep having so many crises? Maybe, on a much bigger, cosmic scale, it is to realize how especially important it is to maintain our humanity. Crises bring that out in people. The more crises, the more we are forced to embrace and re-visit our humanity. Why does this only happen in crisis?
As Pluto completes its run in Capricorn (started in 2008) and ends on November 19, 2024, its final commentary on what is truly valuable and important is the theme? It isn’t stuff, it isn’t money, it is those we love – and the deepest most human thing – the human heart – that reaches out when catastrophic circumstances descend upon us. At that moment in time, our differences ranging from political to cultural to economic melt away. At that moment of crisis, there is realization that all the above act as incendiary issues. In that moment, none of that really matters. We are human beings. We bleed, breathe, and exist on the same things. In those moments we are our most vulnerable and have an opportunity to reveal our truth, our concerns, and re-connect to Spirit.
The full moon lunar eclipse of September 17, 2024, had Neptune, the god of the seas, the god of madness, the god of spirit and the god of the ecstatic experience (yes, there are two sides to each planet) aligned with that eclipse. I have been watching this for a long time now, as I dutifully watch the 19-year return of these eclipse cycles. It was not a coincidence that the oceans and the oceans of emotions took a turn for the worse. Two weeks later October 2, 2024, we had a solar eclipse (new moon) at 10˚ Libra aligned harshly with the disruptor planet Mars. Mars likes to fight and doesn’t always listen. Mars can be a pot stirrer in this position. When I returned from my vacation on October 1 from Greece, the number of friends who got sick, whose parents were hospitalized during that same time and the homes destroyed of close friends were a startling contrast to the peace I’d experienced when away.
Being away from the political storms during the vacation helped shore me up for coming back to the USA. In politics we see increased chaos, madness, disinformation (also a Neptune thing) and it is important during this time NOT to succumb to the madness that leads to potential violence and dismemberment. Neptune on an eclipse is incomprehensible regarding what it can do. The effects of these eclipse are still in play, culminating between December and January – the 90 day later periods as well as around March 14, 2024, when we have another Total Lunar eclipse with Neptune, again, on the eclipse point. Over this six-month period, the fog (Neptune) slowly lifts, and we begin to see the truth behind things we cannot see right now. (You see the 90-day periods marked by firecrackers along with eclipse dates in our annual Starcycles Cheat Sheet, now available!).
How does one confront tidal waves of change? Simply put: By listening to your moral compass and following that faithfully. It is the moral compass that is most visible when you see the thousands of first responders helping those that cannot help themselves. It is the person on the street that helps the other person pick up something they dropped on their way to a destination. It is the ability to think how you say something before you speak. Saying something hurtful just to win a point is cruel. Differences require discussion not accusations. Hearing what the other has to say is important. Words matter. They can elevate or destroy relationships. Clear communication is essential now even though it is challenging.
Enjoy this recent interview with Georgia! She discusses becoming an astrologer: curiosity, paying attention then asking…”Does it work?”
