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July 2010 Ezine Articles Archive

Greetings Cosmic Cruisers,

Well here we are smack bang in the middle of the latest eclipse season. We have already experienced the June 26 eclipse and now we should prepare for the July 12 New Moon eclipse. Please see a terrific article written by Susan Miller at http://www.astrologyzone.com/eclipses/

I hope it helps you to process the potency and affect of eclipses.

July is predominately the Sun sign time of Cancer. Cancerians are the “mother archetype” in astrology. Cancer rules the fourth house of home and family. So this New Moon and eclipse will figure predominately in this area of your chart.

The New Moon eclipse is 20 degrees Cancer at July 12. According to eclipse expert Bernadette Brady, “This Saros Series (eclipse family) will bring successful outcomes to long term worries or illness”. Positive endings are possible now as you navigate life’s murky waters with sensitivity. New cycles begin at home, with family and in relation to living arrangements. And uplifting Mercury/Jupiter trine brings opportunities and fresh perspectives. Action is prime motivators so if in doubt, act it out. Renewed faith in your own skills gives you the self belief edge you’ve been missing.

The New Moon wish list is focused around Cancerian influences such as:
•    Home and family
•    Safety
•    Growing
•    Intimacy/caring skills/
•    Feelings/moods
•    Nurturing
•    Releasing insecurity.
Remember that this New Moon is a wishing Moon so the cosmos is adding an extra pay load of dynamic lifter. Don’t be frightened to go for gold in this New Moon phase you may be surprised where it will take you.

July 26 11:36am the Full Moon eclipse Aquarius 3 degrees – this inventive Full Moon highlights the balance between individual creativity and group dynamics. You really can achieve more as a part of a community now that you can alone. Saturn aligns with the Sun and Moon offering chances to solidify relationship commitments in spite of personal differences. Uranus and Jupiter offer the potential for radical change. Solutions to life’s dilemmas are everywhere – you have to think outside the square.

July is a number seven month which is a great time to add to your skills through study or seeking answers to long-standing questions. It is almost important to rest stop before the success and vibration of the eight month in August.

Our journey through the tarot continues with the suit of the swords. Swords represent the intellect. The Ace of swords implies that out of conflict some new creative viewpoint will emerge. The mental powers are awakening and this means change. The old order is threatened, and conflicts are bound to arise. Ultimately a resolution will be possible but there is an inevitability of collision and struggle before such peace is in sight.

Our animal totem for July is not a pretty pet. This totem is Badger and he represents aggressiveness. Badger may remind you that you are being too meek in trying to reach some goal. Badger asks how long you are willing to sit and wait for the world to deliver your silver spoon.

The key is to become aggressive enough to do something about your present state

of affairs. Badger is teaching you to get angry in a creative way and say, “I won’t take it anymore.” You must follow up by keeping your eye on the goal. Honour the healing process as you express those inner feelings.

Be aggressive but don’t cut others to ribbons on the way – that is too much aggression. Use your anger to stop you lolling around, so that you doldrums of apathy are a thing of the past. Badger is a powerful medicine when properly used for self-improvement.

Our crystal for July is Moonstone (a stone of new beginnings). This is a crystal that I use in my New Moon wishes. I take one drop of Sandalwood oil and rub it over the crystal pendant and say these words:

If wishes were horses
Beggars would ride
Over land and sea
Bring my wishes to me

I wear my Moonstone until the next full moon phase.

During this ritual I light a candle – green for abundance, pink for healing, red for love (there are many more – you choose what is important to you at this particular moment in time).

Moonstone’s healing properties are to make conscious the unconscious and promote intuition and empathy. It encourages lucid dreaming, especially at the time of the full moon.

Moonstone is traditionally been used to enhance psychic abilities and to develop clairvoyance. It can be worn as a pendant to encourage acceptance of your psychic gifts.

Psychologically Moonstone calms overreactions to situations and to emotional triggers. Moonstone is filled with receptive, passive, feminine energy. It balances male-female energies and aids men who want to get in touch with their feminine side. It is the perfect antidote for the excessively macho man or overly aggressive female.

Mentally, Moonstone opens the mind to sudden and irrational impulses, serendipity, and synchronicity. Care has to be taken that it does not induce illusions in response to wishful thinking.

Our Goddess for July is Ix Chel who was at one time married to the Sun. Becoming tired of his jealousy, she left him, disappearing whenever he appeared. Also known as Lady Rainbow, Lady-Unique-All-Embracer, Ix Chel was the most prominent deity of the Mayan world. She was especially revered as a guardian of children and as a protector of women during childbirth. She is a goddess of water, fertility, medicine, sexual relations and healing. Through her example, the goddess Ix Chel shows us how to remain healing and loving while retaining fierce independence.

July has the potential to be a wow month – there could be a great deal of intensity around. Invite the goddess Ix Chel into your life and wear your Moonstone with pride. Speaking of Pride, Leo will appear as our star in August. Until then,

Love and Peace,

Harles

Greetings.

I have been a bit tardy with my column of late, mostly due to an overly full life. I now teach aromatherapy at Om Shanti College and this activity takes up a chunk of my spare time. I’ve also been active in my role as regional coordinator for the IAAMA. Little time has been left for other activities.

This month I have decided to write about the herb Andrographis paniculata, commonly known as andrographis. I feel this is the herb topical with the cold and flu season upon those of us who live in the southern hemisphere.

This month’s recipe is lemon delicious pudding. I was going to do chocolate self-saucing pudding, but the Canberra Times Sunday supplement has included this recipe today. Lemon Delicious is a light dessert, unlike chocolate pudding which is more substantial. Both come under the category of comfort food and are equally yummy for different reasons.

Wishing you many good things
Moonhawk

Andrographis paniculata

Those who are wondering why the image below is of Echinacea, it’s because I don’t have a good image of andrographis, and Echinacea is often prescribed with andrographis.

This herb has Ayurvedic (Indian) origins Andrographis also appears in the pharmacopeias of China and Korea. It grows in South East Asia, so this is hardly surprising. It is also known as the ‘King of Bitters’, as it has a very bitter taste. Like all bitters it is used as a digestive stimulant.
Andrograpis’s other claim to fame is as an immune stimulant. I think of it as a boot camp for your immune system. It tells your immune cells to get off their sorry little butts and start fighting invading micro-organisms. On a scientific level, this herb will stimulate both specific and non-specific immune responses. If you have a cold or flu, then this is the herb for you. Andrographis can also be taken in low doses to prevent viral infection, although I prefer to use Astragalus for this purpose. This herb is also antimicrobial, making it useful for prevention and treatment of secondary infections.
I’ve had a lot of success with prescribing this herb. If it is taken in the early stages of a viral infection, then it generally reduces the severity and duration of a cold or flu. In 2009 during the swine flu crisis I prescribed a lot of andrographis both to treat colds and flu, and to help prevent infection by the various viruses that were around at that time.

As a stimulant of natural killer (NK) cells, andrographis is also thought to have some anti-cancer activity. Research on this is still mostly in-vitro, with limited in-vivo studies. Essentially it works by increasing the body’s ability to fight and/or destroy cancer cells, and increases cancer cell death. Results have been promising, however more research is needed before we all run out and start taking andrographis to prevent or treat cancer.
Andrographis is also a liver herb, in that it has similar properties to silymarin (discussed in an earlier article).
Remember, always consult with a qualified practitioner before taking any herbal supplement. The NHAA and ATMS both provide lists of accredited practitioners.

References:
A Clinical Guide to Blending Liquid Herbs by Kerry Bone.
Herbs & Natural Supplements – an evidence based guide by Lesley Braun and Marc Cohen.

Lemon Delicious Pudding
Citrus are in season during the colder months, so it makes sense to make lemon delicious pudding on a cold winter’s night. It is more of a baked custard than a pudding, so has a lighter texture.
3 eggs
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon self-raising flour
½ cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 180c.

Lightly grease a 1.5 litre (6 cup) oven proof dish. A deep one is best.
Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until stiff peaks form, then beat in ¼ cup caster sugar, and beat until the sugar is dissolved. Beat the yolks (separate bowl) with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until thick and creamy. Add finally grated lemon zest. On low speed, slowly add the milk and lemon juice, then the flour.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. I like to use a metal spoon, using a “figure 8” motion. Pour the mix into the baking dish. Place the dish in a pan, and fill the pan with hot water halfway up the side of the dish – this is called a Bain Marie or water bath. It stops the pudding overheating. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from the oven, and carefully lift out of the water bath onto a wire wrack. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve with cream. Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry they are.

Dearest Jems,

So how has the first half of the year transpired for you, My Friend?

I’ve experienced lots of changes metaphorically speaking as well as literally. The first six months of 2010 have been power packed with lots of moving and shaking.

And what about that Full Moon Lunar eclipse in June? How did that slide into your life?

I was very proactive in letting go of some of my painful past experiences with a wonderful healing ritual. It feels so blissful and I felt so much lighter and brighter. I was buzzing for days after.

July looks like it is shaping up to be a boomer of a month too with another eclipse – this time on the New Moon in Cancer. I am looking forward to this eclipse as I feel that it will bare some positive repercussions (that sounds a little strange, doesn’t it?). Although, I feel ready for some new experiences and I think that July 2010 is the time to allow new experiences into my life.

Today for example, hubby and I tried an entirely different shopping experience. I walked around the shops with my eyes wide and my heart beating very loudly. I had not realised that I had fallen into a rut with my shopping experiences. I said to hubby that in the future we need to come here at least once a season. I joined a couple of the retail outlets email notification lists to make sure that I am reminded to move out of my area.

I guess it is a lot like life, isn’t it Jems? We get comfortable and we do the same things over and over. Life seems to chug along with the choke out and we become familiar and feel safe in our surroundings.

I think that the eclipse season is a great motivator to move our focus in a different direction, don’t you?

I can’t wait to hear about your vision quest on your return home. Until I hear from you, I am beaming loads of love and light your way.

Love and Magic,

Jar

Dear JAR,

Hello my Friend! It is pretty amazing to be sitting here in Vermont writing a letter in my familiar seat in front of my computer, when just yesterday morning I woke up in Phoenix, Arizona! The temperature there had been 115 degrees F, with warnings for folks to stay indoors. Being thirsty at the hotel, I ran the water for a minute to allow it to get cold, and the best it could do was a shade warmer than luke! It made me gag. What was interesting though, was that I am usually melted by extremes of heat, yet I wore long jeans and a jacket and did not suffer any ill effects. I was actually comfortable!

The parts of Arizona that I witnessed were very beautiful and very wealthy. In Scottsdale, the attention to detail was incredible, such as fountains with life-size bronze statues of galloping horses, and outdoor restaurants that had mist spraying in the air to keep people from drying out as they ate in the arid heat. The people were beautiful too – it seemed to me that the folks who lived in that town had incredibly straight and tall spines, and walked like dancers. The general tone was geared toward consumerism, so you knew it was a tourist town.

We drove to the Grand Canyon, which totally blew my mind. The road through the National Park is flat and straight, and the brush that grows alongside the road is similar to what you might find in a beach area – low growing, with driftwood-like logs scattered here and there. Suddenly, there is a place for your car to pull into an overlook, and there it is: Hundreds of miles of the deepest, most colourful, mind-blowing shapes and crags and gullies and hills, sprinkled with vegetation- and if you look carefully, you can see the Colorado River, looking like a narrow piece of ribbon undulating through the canyon so many hundreds of feet below.

I cried! The magnitude of this spectacular wonder made me feel like kneeling to the Higher Power whose presence could be deeply felt and not denied when observing this phenomenon. I had to make a huge effort to remember exactly what it was that could possibly be so important to worry about in my short little life, when these gargantuan structures have witnessed eons of cycles and still they beautifully stand. My mind drifted back to a time when courageous people rode across this country in covered wagons to find a better life, and what a shock to have your team of horses suddenly ride over the edge with the wagon tumbling down behind it. The gaping hole really does appear so suddenly! Of course, there are trees and bushes and thigh high stone walls situated so that you can sit on them and take photos without losing your life, but before those things were in place I can only imagine how many bodies fed the vultures that hungrily circled above.

After a couple of days we continued on to New Mexico, and our destination was Santa Fe. New Mexico is also incredibly beautiful, but the tone is distinctively different. It has a rawer, more primitive, in-your-face energy, with reality overshadowing fantasy. Yet – the stark images are so incredibly inspiring, that artists from all over come here to explore their souls. Art is everywhere! From the bridges and overpasses to mailboxes and museums.

But also here is more poverty, and I chose to buy small items directly from the native people who had blankets spread with their wares, as opposed to going into an ostentatious store whose owners pay little to the folks who laboured over the crafts they make a huge profit on. I had been to Santa Fe once before, and it was even more lovely this time around. Musicians played their hearts out in the town square; everyone felt compelled to give them well-deserved cash in their hats. The weather is perfect, the people friendly, and again, art is everywhere.
I would like to say that it is heaven, but I am also aware that there is much racial strife – there are three main factions that dominate the scene: the Native Americans, the Mexicans and the Whites. There is violence; some of it is racial, and some of it is like anywhere else: in families and relationships. The buses are painted with messages to love your children and praise them everyday, and telephone numbers to report domestic violence. It is a fascinating mix of the Wild West, hippie-town, art snobs, and talented but homeless artists looking for a better life. Georgia O’Keefe is one person I admire, and the museum there dedicated to her art is a testimony to how this area affects the creative soul.

We travelled back to Phoenix/Scottsdale in two segments, since it was too much to do in one fell swoop – the 88 year old lady who was the focus of this trip would not have endured it too well. The country that we drove through was so incredible – it was as if nature was on stage and performing for us. We came upon an area where the prairie dogs live – thousands of them popping out of holes, chirping warnings to each other – we were delighted to be a witness to them in this preserved area. They were a bit wary of us – for good reason – humans are dangerous parasites on this planet, and I feel joy when a town or city works to preserve what is natural to the area.

We flew back to Vermont on Friday, and it was good to get home. I am still processing and digesting all the experiences that transpired during this life changing trip, and I will probably have more to tell later on. Stay tuned!
I am glad to be back and able to re-connect to you, Jar, and I look forward to hearing more about your life changes during this eclipse season!
I send you much love and many blessings, now and always!

JEM