Soul mates by Ankur Rana

Full moon at 05.52 on Saturday 14th September.

With a strong 1st house, 7th house axis, this chart shines a light on relationships, inviting us to consider what good, healthy, respectful relationships look like, and whether are we cultivating those ideals in our lives.

With a stellium of planets in Virgo in the 1st house, including the sun at 21 degrees, feminine earthy Virgo is seeking a certain quality of relationship, discerning between the ones worth investing in and the ones that are unable to engage in respectful union at this time- and this does not only apply to lover relationships.

With Juno exactly on the ascendant, this rising energy is concerned with marriage, commitment, give-and-take, power and compromise, toward creating harmonious and satisfying relationships in which both parties are seen, met and valued.

Juno also suggests the empowerment we may experience while we are embedded in such relationships. When we feel valued, loved, safe, and respected we thrive and from that union we are brought closer to the truth of who we are.

If we are not inviting and sustaining nurturing relationships in our life, if instead we are finding discord, imbalance, disrespect and relationships driven by unowned shadow aspects, it may be tempting to project the blame outward, however Nessus on the descendent in the 7th house flags up a cautionary warning to examine how it may be ourselves and the not the other who is responsible for creating disharmony.

Nessus asks us to go even deeper to consider the ways in which we may in fact be harbouring the things which we resent and resist in others. This may be a very tough reckoning on the root causes of trauma and disconnection, asking us to review early relationship imprinting and conditioning.

According to astrologer Melanie Reinhart, Nessus offers the possibility of putting an end to outmoded and detrimental dynamics in our life- Nessus is the centaur who says, “the buck stops here”. What in your life, particularly regarding relationships are you simply not prepared to tolerate any longer? And is it really a feature of the other, or a hidden aspect in yourself that needs to be worked on to be released?

And what are your deepest longings for union with another, or others?

With strong Virgo energy it may be time to discern exactly who and what we want in our life. If we are attached and find it difficult to let go of toxic or unhealthy situations, it is time to get honest about what really holds us in positions of lack and disempowerment.

Meditating on moon and Neptune in Pisces in the 7th house, it may become clear that in the end, self is other and other is self, and all is one. This insight shows us that how we treat others and allow others to treat us reflects our relationship with our self.

To see the world and the people in it as a cosmic and sacred mirror through which we can see into the depths of our own soul may be the teaching of this moon.

This lunar cycle began with asteroid Magdalene on the north node, highlighting a potential collective shift toward qualities embodied by that archetype. The relationship between Mary Magdalene and Yeshua has been felt to be one of the most honouring, sacred, respectful and powerful ever witnessed or documented.

As the moon comes to fruition tomorrow, the full lunar illumination may also shine a light on our deepest desires for sacred union and what it takes to create that.

Mary Magdalene ca.1524 Andrea Solario and Bernardino Luini at The Walters Art Museum

Celebrate Friday 13^th as a day to reclaim all that has been exiled about the divine feminine, the Goddess of love, the mysteries of death, resurrection, renewal, and the moon.

While the number 13 has been much maligned in our culture and is thought to be a harbinger of bad luck and evil, it is in fact an auspicious day connected to the Goddess, the sacred feminine,Venus and Mary Magdalene.

In ancient times there were 13 months in a year as there were 13 moons in a year and 13 menstrual cycles. The 13 month, 28-day, relationship to time was dominant on our planet for 6000 years before the turn from lunar to solar consciousness.

The Maya, Celts, Egyptians, Lakota, Essenes, Polynesians, and Cherokee all used a 13-month calendar. The Druid 13-month calendar was connected to their alphabet and tree calendar – each consonant of the Druid alphabet represented a moon cycle. In both Mayan and Druid cultures, the extra day was a ‘non-calendar day’ or a ‘day out of time’, traditionally a day of ritual and renewal in preparation for the coming year.

There is a technical term for fear of Friday 13th- ‘friggatriskaidekaphoboa’, the ‘Frigga’ prefix comes from the name of the Goddess from whom Friday was named. Frigg, or Freyja, like Venus or Aphrodite, is associated with love, fertility and erotic love.

Superstitious beliefs about Friday 13^th can be traced back to the capture of the Knights Templar and according to Margaret Starbird, even further back to the Hebrew bible and the capture of the Jewish people.

On Friday 13^th 1307, the French King Philip 1V ordered the mass arrest of 60 odd Knights Templar, including their grand master Jacques de Molay. The official reason given for this capture is that the Templars had become too wealthy and powerful, and that Philip the Fair was also a rather greedy King who wished to amass more wealth. Unofficially, the story becomes much more esoteric suggesting that the wealth possessed by the Knights was not of a material nature, but a mystical treasure linked to the Goddess, the Egyptian mysteries, and Mary Magdalene who some call the 13^th disciple.

For Starbird, fear of Friday 13^th goes back to the Hebrew Bible, the book of Esther, when Haman persuaded Esther’s husband, the King of Babylon, to arrest and execute her people, the Jews, en masse. She says that the faith of the Templars was based on ancient “Ebionite” or “Judaic-Christian” roots that included the full humanity of Jesus (including marriage and parenthood). This points the way to claims that attest to the union between Mary Magdalene and Jesus and the birthing of a holy blood line- whether physical or spiritual and probably both.

The number 13 is symbolic of feminine power, creative life force, and wisdom. Though Death is number 13 in the tarot deck, feminine wisdom teaches us that death also points to rebirth and renewal. On the inner planes ego death or death of the old self, heralds deep transformation necessary for conscious awakening- spirit incarnate.

 

The Assumption is a pivotal time to evoke a fully awakened feminine consciousness.

Statue of Mary on top of the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere, Lyon

For the past few days I have been walking to the top of the hill over looking the city of Lyon. There stands the Basilica of Notre dame de Fourviere dedicated to Mary, side-by-side with Roman remains of what was once the most important centre in Gaul. In 1704 a taurobolic alter was discovered on the hill; it was used for ritualistic and sacrificial offerings to the Great Mother, Cybele as far back as 160BC.

Roman remains next to the Notre dame Basilica in Lyon where the taurobolic alter was found in 1704.

Cybele- the Magna Mater on her lion drawn chariot.

In the crypt there must be at least a dozen statues and paintings of Mary from all over the world. There are a few Black Madonnas among which are the ‘Black Madonna of Loreto’, and ‘Notre Dame de Fourviere’.

Black Madonna de Fourviere in the crypt at Lyon.

I have felt very moved to be here… for centuries this has been a hugely significant Mary cult site, and in spite of the apparent corruptions and distortions of the feminine within the Catholic church, there is something much deeper and abiding. There is something pure to be discovered.

15th August is a national holiday here in France for the Assumption of Mary, officially recognised by the papacy in 1950. Tomorrow’s full moon in Aquarius also joins the Leo Sun and Venus in an exact conjunction. It is the perfect expression of soli-lunar power and magic. It is the power of the awakened feminine joined in union with the Sun.

Assumption of the Virgin- Guido Reni

Lyon is on the Apollo/Athena line an extention of the Michael and Mary line which according to Hamish Miller in “The Dance of the Dragon” extends from Skellig St.Michael in Ireland to Armageddon in Turkey.

The Apollo/Athena Ley Line, and extention of the Michael/Mary line inHamish Miller’s  “The Dance of the Dragon”

Apollo/Athena- Michael/Mary- expressions of the ‘hieros gamos’ or marriage of the God and Goddess in the physical world reflecting a state of awakened consciousness.

It is said that it was Arch Angel Michael who aided Mary in her Assumption.

St. Michael La Polermo

Past lives, karma, ancestral fields, soul contacts… these are topics I rarely write about but as we are in the midst of a powerful eclipse season, and the full moon on Tuesday happens to be a lunar eclipse conjunct the south node, all things past, and even the very far past, are on the radar both collectively and individually. Maybe I am feeling this slightly more acutely as my natal sun is 17 degrees Capricorn which is the point of the lunar eclipse south node, and as well as a recent Pluto/Sun conjunction -which means I have been immersed in some pretty hefty transpersonal energies for the past couple of years- I am feeling the effects of some strong shifts. And yes, it also means a current Saturn/Sun transit. It’s been a ride!

During this eclipse season on the Capricorn/Cancer axis, and particularly the full moon lunar eclipse on Tuesday we are presented with a portal to the past, to go beyond the usual time/space restrictions of the temporal world and to glimpse the bigger picture. If you want to know what soul issues are up for healing for you at this time, take a close look at the conditions of your life. What issues are really hot? What issues seem to be coming round-and-round-again-and-again? Maybe it is a relationship pattern. Maybe it is an old story you live out of such as broken woman, or poverty consciousness, sick man, or unlovable person… What are the issues that really need your attention right now so that you can move on with your soul’s unfolding toward becoming the person you are here to be?

On a collective level what is up for healing is the uncovering and exposing of shadow aspects of power, especially as it relates to resources, sexuality, and manipulation.

My relationship with the past is changing. I find myself these days recalling many incidents from my life, things I had not forgotten about exactly, but which I am now interpreting quite differently. Things once only vaguely understood and barely integrated are now taking shape within a much larger framework, and when I say larger, I mean beyond the scope of this current life identity.

I have no recollections, and only vague notions of what might, at a push, be considered fragments of past lives. Past lives are a tricky topic… people who have ‘memories’ are often treated with a large dose of new age salt, or else are met with the usual retort of “why was no one a lowly peasant or ordinary person, why were they all kings and queens?.” Fair point, I get it, but what if the images we receive in relation to past lives are both symbolic and literal- in other words, what if recollections of past lives are, along with other material existing in our unconscious, pictorial representations of the vibrations we carry? Another way of saying this is that these ‘visions’ may be the soul’s way of telling its story, given as a gift to help us become fully self-realised. To help us remember who we are, to show us what we are working with at this point in our journey, and to glimpse what needs to be cleared so that we can move onto the next rung of the spiral.

Jung says the archetype comes cloaked in many guises that can be best understood by the receiver in his or her individual and cultural circumstance. In shamanic journeys people often ask me, “how do I know it’s not just my mind making it all up?” Well it might be, but why that particular image out of all the millions of other images? And even if it is just wishful thinking, that is still telling us a lot.

Several years ago, while embroiled in a messy and destructive relationship, a well-meaning friend suggested I go and visit a past life regression therapist, so I did. It was the first time I had ventured into this territory. I set a clear intention… I wanted to see on a soul level the dynamic that was operating between me and the man in question. I experienced something very similar to a shamanic journey but with a slight difference- except for shamanic journeys that also have a past life quality to them. The experience was also different to dreaming, even dreams that I consider of the ‘big’ variety. This was something else, and I even experienced strong bodily sensations so much so that my speech became impaired.

During my session I was in a state of semi hypnosis. I had a sense that the answer to my question was being shown to me in a mythical context through images that formed a narrative. The story was archetypal and yet contained information that was personal to me. I can’t remember if I had this insight during or after the session but at some point I realised that the information was not just showing me the quality and conditions of my relationship with the man, but also a vibration that I carry that had manifested in countless ways both in my present life… and in past lives. The reason for it surfacing again so painfully in my current situation is that it had come into my field for healing. It was time to let it go and I needed to re-experience the memory so that I could bring it into conscious awareness, and finally heal it.

This is just one example of how over the years I have connected with the patterns that I carry in my life, although this was the first time that I had confronted it so directly as a past life experience. In other instances, I have accessed the ‘codes’ in other ways including shamanic journeying, rebirthing, sacred sites, relationships, working with archetypes, and finally evolutionary astrology. Which brings me full circle back to the point of writing this blog.

Take this opportunity to dive deep. Really look into what it is that wants to be addressed at this time in your life. You will know. And then use this gateway of the south node (where we have been), conjunct the moon (our unconscious), conjunct Pluto (transformation), and Saturn (karma) to shed a layer or two.

You may have been waiting lifetimes for this moment. It may be time to show yourself as who you truly are.