Organic Architecture
Architecture is a very human affair: buildings that are designed by humans for humans. As first world societies have grown more removed from nature, so - for the most part - has our architecture.
This month, as you review the structures of your life, consider Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy of Organic Architecture, in which structures are designed to bring inhabitants into harmony with the natural environment around them. Wright's buildings are not human constructions that sit on top of a particular spot on the earth. Rather, they are in active conversation with their surroundings, both taking in and expressing the world around them, enriching both humanity and nature.
Sun in Capricorn: 12/21/17 - 1/19/18
When the sun travels through the sign of the sea-goat, it's time to focus our attention on the structures of our life. The nature of structures is that they take a long time to build, and once they're in place, ideally they support us. BUT we change, so our structures need updating now and again to account for those changes. Updating might mean an all-out dismantling of what exists, and rebuilding from the ground up, or it might mean some minor adjustments.
Right now, we are facing down a bigger remodel than usual, on the personal, societal, and global level. Even if you're not detonating the whole of your life and rebuilding from the ground up, you'll at least be taking out and adding in some major wings. Read this Saturn in Capricorn article for more on that.
Herbs for the solar month of Capricorn:
In the body, it's a good time to support the bones and joints in your body & life:
Horsetail, especially for accessing your inner mettle to push through difficulty.
Nettles, especially if you need some help maintaining good boundaries.
Oat Straw, especially if you need some calming and nourishing support for your nerves too.
Saturn in Capricorn: 12/19/2017 - 12/16/2020
Winter Solstice: 12/21/17 at 8:28 am pst
Winter solstice is the day of the sun's rebirth from darkness into light. This is new year's day by the solar calendar, which means renewal of all things solar - purpose, illumination, consciousness, warmth, and a sense of center. This is a good day to return to your center in whatever way is meaningful for you.
What is your center?
Describe it as a color, a shape, a flavor, a scent, a sensation, a direction, an element, a force of nature, an animal, an archetype, a plant, an object, a building, a vehicle, a tool, a magical power...
Mercury Stations Direct: 12/22/17 at 5:51 pm pst
We've been reviewing and rethinking our beliefs during Mercury's retrograde through Sagittarius (12/2/17 - 12/22/17). Beliefs shape the filter of our perception, and our perceptions reinforce our beliefs. This last several weeks have given us opportunities to adjust our filters so more truth is getting through to our awareness. Beliefs can both inspire us and limit us, so hopefully you've had some breakthroughs that will enable you to live and communicate in more inspired ways.
Go here for more Mercury retrograde tips, and remember it takes planets a while to get back up to speed once they shift directions. Expect things to be a bit sludgy until around 12/27/17.
Super Full Moon in Cancer: 1/1/18 at 6:24 pm pst
We start out 2018 with the closest of three super full moons in a row (12/3/17, 1/1/17 & 1/31/17). We feel super full moons more deeply and overtly because of the moon's close proximity - just as we feel the presence of a friend more when they're in the same room with us, as opposed to when they're on the other side of the country. Add to that that this is a super full moon in Cancer, A.K.A. the most feeling-oriented sign of the zodiac.
That's some big feels right there.
We need this right now. We need to feel. Our emotions will tell us what structures need to crumble, and what structures need to be built. Our wmotions will tell us what nourishes us and what depletes us.
"There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into action without emotion." - Carl Jung
That said, working with emotions is tricky:
We need to feel them, hold space from them, and honor them -
but NOT think, decide and act from them.
Use your emotions as information to help guide and inform you,
but the decisions needs to come from your center, which is serene and spacious.
Emotions are lunar territory: a changing source of light that shifts how things look to us. Wisdom is solar territory: a source of light that illuminates clearly when it is present.
The trouble is that the sun sets, and then we have moments when we can't see clearly. That's when we need to wait for dawn to come. This is the essence of the Cancer-Capricorn polarity we experience at this full moon: let your emotions inform you (Cancer), but practice restraint (Capricorn), and wait to take action once wisdom shines its clarifying light.
What do your feelings tell you about the various structures in your life?
Which structures in your life nourish you?
Which structures in your life deplete you?
Uranus stations Direct: 1/2/18
Liberation. Insight. Awakening. Electricity. That's the stuff of Uranus. This is the planet of breakthrough. Its' retrograde began (8/2/2017) just before the last two eclipses in Aquarius (8/7/2017) and Leo (8/21/2017). Now it's stationing direct just before the next two eclipses in Leo (1/31/2018) and Aquarius (2/15/2018). Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius, so this is one of those moments when themes are accentuated.
Take note of surprising events, unusual encounters, and insights that occur in the first few days of 2018. That's Uranus talking to you. Here's how to speak Uranus' language:
Court A'ha's around this time by letting yourself do things differently - be with different people. Shake up your routines. Try something new - but not your usual new-year stuff. Something surprising, innovative, different. It doesn't need to be a grand gesture. It could be something very small. Just let it be unusual. We can't control the unpredictable energy of Uranus, but we can at least align ourselves with it, which softens the impact of any wild surprises we may encounter.
New Moon in Capricorn: 1/17/18 at 10:30 pm pst
There's a party going on in Capricorn at this new moon. Four planets join the sun and moon in the realm of the sea-goat for the start of this lunation, which just happens to culminate in a super-full-moon-total-lunar-eclipse at the end of January. It's time we talk about the extreme expressions of Capricorn, since there will be an extreme amount of energy there. Here's a poison-antidote format to help you align yourself towards that organic architecture of life that has integrity with who you are, with when you are, and with where you are in the world and in society.
Poison: Capricorn can, when not held in check, drive people to overwork themselves and others in pursuit of its goals.
Antidote: STOP. Practice non-doing. Stare out a window. Look at the sky. Lay or sit down and close your eyes. Touch a plant. Stick your hand in the dirt - not to garden - but just to remember where you come from, and where you'll one day end up.
Poison: Capricorn can, when not properly aligned with heart-centered desires, climb the wrong mountain. This is when goals are chosen out of fear, anger, or greed, rather than out of genuine love.
Antidote: HUMILITY. Admit you've made a mistake. Go back down the mountain, check your map and your compass, and start up the mountain that will take you to the territory you truly wish to inhabit, the view you truly wish to behold.
What is the mountain worth climbing - that thing that is worth striving for, no matter what effort it requires?
How can you build more rest and receptivity into the very structure of your life?
Next Month...
You can already feel the Aquarius month rattling in your spine and zipping through the highway of your nerves. We'll have a total-lunar-eclipse-super-full-moon and a partial solar eclipse next month. Tend and nourish yourself now, so you can ride those waves of energy with your heart front and center. Until then, feel free to schedule a private consultation or healing session, or drop me a line. Here's wishing you a month of inspired architect-ing and renewal. Thanks for reading, Rae