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Astrology:
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
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by Dana Gerhardt |
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Taurus New Moon:
Asking Venus
by Dana Gerhardt
The invisible world wants to help us, declares visionary activist and astrologer Caroline Casey, "but spiritual etiquette requires that we ask."
WLet this Taurus New Moon stimulate your senses and draw you into the magic of your ordinary world. Do you feel a quickening in your body? A desire to experience even more earthly delights? Ritual is a time-honored way to attract invisible assistance in manifesting your desires. And it’s a wonderful way to play with the creative earth energy of Taurus. That’s why every Spring, on an auspicious Friday, during the Venus-ruled Taurus season, I perform the Santeria Venus ritual (described by Casey in her Making the Gods Work for You).
The first time I did it as a lark. Venus rules pleasures, money and love – who wouldn’t be eager for more of that! To ensure a powerful result, I knew I needed to be as specific as possible. I meditated on my desires—they seemed faraway, perhaps impossible, but I knew exactly what I was dreaming of: I wanted a fabulous new home and a man to share it with. Given the magnitude of my request—wouldn’t it take time to bring such bounty!—I figured it wasn’t too soon to let Venus know.
I gathered the requisite ingredients: a dinner roll, a nickel, my desires written down on a piece of paper, some honey, and a candle. I prepared them as instructed. The ritual was supposed to conclude with tossing the combined ingredients into a body of fresh (not salty) running water. This was not easy to find in my suburban neighborhood. And I was not going to toss my dreams in the toilet—the common suburban substitute for ritual running water. Thankfully, a receptionist at the local water company told me of an unmarked spot three miles north of the main road. There, in an unnamed stream moving briskly through a forgotten oak grove, I surrendered my dreams to Venus. She could help me or not!
Just six weeks later I found myself in escrow on a home so beautiful, with waterfalls, French windows, breath-taking views, it was grander than my wildest dreams. And guess what—the man arrived too, bringing a loan for the down payment and a desire to move in with me!
I was stunned.
I’ve performed the Santeria Venus ritual many times since. None of my subsequent rituals have surpassed the sheer drama of that first result. Yet my repeated petitions to Venus have brought something far more profound: Venus is now a living presence in my life. My exquisite dream house has since been sold, its profits funding a prosperity of ease and playfulness that was once only a dream of mine. The man who materialized after that first ritual has since moved on, allowing another man, even more passionate, to join my life. My days are more pleasure-filled than ever before. No longer is Venus just a figment of my imagination. She’s a living presence whom I actively serve, by celebrating what she loves.
So it wasn’t a desire for more Venusian goodies that prompted my ritual last Friday. The sparkle and rush of running streams in my new neighborhood, the teasing bowers of new Spring growth—they stirred me to it. After preparing our rolls and burning our candles, my partner and I drove to a local creek. I could sense Venus dancing in the water and among the leaves. I could feel her within, a rising joy. "Oh let’s pick a good spot, so we can watch our rolls float awhile downstream!" I focused into the pleasure of the moment and flung my bread into the water. I watched as it swiftly sailed through the sun-lit current, until it went out of view.
Exhilarated, I turned to my partner. His face was glum. There was his bread, inches away from where he’d thrown it, pinned against a rock. Every moment in ritual is a telling one. If what shows up is contrary to our desires, it indicates what might be in our way, or what is unclear about our current state of mind. My partner had been feeling stuck in his life for awhile. He shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the car. "No! We must free it!" Was it Venus speaking in me? We tossed stones, laughed, nearly fell into the water, and then his roll sprung free and went on its way. At home that night, we honored Venus deliciously.
Gods and humans need each other. We love their magic. They love our acknowledgement. It is through us that they live! I hope you spend this Taurus Moon cycle living the joy of Venus. Use the Santeria ritual, or any other means!
Venus Santeria ritual
Do this on Friday (this is Venus’ day). Get a round piece of bread, like a dinner roll. Make a hole in it and put a nickel inside (the number five is sacred to Venus). Add the folded piece of paper on which your desires are clearly stated. Pour a little honey on top of that (as Casey always says, "for obvious symbolic reasons!"). Finally, place a small candle in the hole (bigger than a birthday candle, but smaller than a taper -- Casey suggests a yellow candle, though I’ve found different colors fun to play with). Light the candle. As it is burning, honor Venus: take a luxurious bath, go shopping, make love. This prepares the way for Venus’ arrival. When the candle is completely burned down, so that only melted wax is on the bread, take it to sweet flowing water. Toss this now ritually potent (and fully bio-degradable) roll into the water, reciting an invocation, poem, or prayer of your choice.
© 2006 Dana Gerhardt
All rights reserved
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Dana Gerhardt,
Astrologer
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Dana Gerhardt
A popular columnist with The Mountain Astrologer since 1991, Dana Gerhardt is an internationally respected astrologer.
She has lectured extensively and written for astrology publications on several continents. Her ongoing passions are the moon and living the intuitive life.
Dana worked for many years in the corporate sector, where she observed the undeniable influence of natural cycles. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles and did graduate work in literature at Columbia University and CSULA.
She is joined on her Mooncircles website by a community of accomplished astrologers.
Jean Hinson Lall
Jean Hinson Lall is a professional astrologer and psychotherapist who has been in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland since 1975.
A former Peace Corps staff member and Fulbright scholar in India, she holds an M.A. degree in archetypal studies.
Her writings have appeared in Spring, Common Boundary, and The Astrotherapy Newsletter. She has lectured widely on astrology, myth and archetypal psychology and is Director of the Institute for the Study of Imagination.
Julia Bondi
Julia has been a busy counseling astrologer, intuitive, teacher and writer for more than 30 years.
With degrees in clinical psychology and esoteric philosophy, Julia draws her wisdom and dedication to spirituality from her moon rising on her ascendant, her 12th house stellium in Gemini and her Pisces midheaven.
Pythia Peay
Pythia Peay is an astrologer and inspirational journalist whose articles have appeared in a variety of publications, including "George" magazine," Common Boundary," and "The Utne Reader."
She studied and taught meditation with the Sufi teacher, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and is the editor of his book, Awakening: A Sufi Experience. She has also written Soul Sisters: A Sacred Way for all Women and Mercury Retrograde.
April Elliott Kent
April Elliott Kent is a practicing astrologer, writer, and web designer. Her writing has been featured in The Mountain Astrologer and Wholistic Astrologer magazines, and in Llewellyn's 2005 Moon Sign Book. Her specialty is wedding electionals. She recently graduated from the California State University at San Diego with a degree in communications.
http://www.mooncircles.
com/
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