Welcome to the Stella Starwoman September AstroUpdate! It’s all happening this month - two eclipses, Venus going direct, Mercury retrograde and the Spring Equinox. Plus there’s a special article on Cecil the Lion and his untimely demise. My Astrology for Beginners course launched in style last Wednesday with a great bunch of new students and a total immersion in moon calendars – thanks to all of you who’ve signed up! Finally, if you’d like to give your dreams and goals a kick start, my next Magic & Manifestation course starts up in just five weeks’ time – spring is just around the corner!
Magic & Manifestation Course Starts Monday 5 th October in Melbourne
Magic & Manifestation Class of 2014 with their vision boards and wands…. COULD THIS BE YOU in just a few weeks’ time?
Spring is the perfect time to plant dreams and watch them grow and flourish. This nine week course will not only help you identify and focus on your dreams, but send you away with some wonderful and effective magical tools to make them come true in real life. Past students have achieved incredible results – you can read all about them here MAGIC & MANIFESTATION COURSE but please don’t leave it until the last minute to sign up!
Dates: Mon 5 th Oct – Mon 7 th Dec 2015 (6.30 – 8.30 pm) Cost: $395 ($50 deposit will secure your place) Venue: Elwood Learning Centre, 87 Tennyson St, Elwood, Melbourne Bookings: Call Stella on 03 9534 5021 with your CREDIT CARD details or BOOK ONLINE with PayPal/Visa/MasterCard or BANK TRANSFER to Account Name: Stella Starwoman, BSB 063-131 Account Number 1009 0630 Read More about this course including student testimonials HERE
Venus Goes Direct – Feel the Love!
On 25th July love goddess Venus slowed to a standstill and began her six week retrograde phase which completes this month on 6th September. As the planet of love and values, Venus retrograde periods are times when we re- assess exactly what and who we value, which can involve revisiting past relationships and dealing with unfinished business, or simply coming to a deeper understanding of our own emotional needs. On the 1st September Venus meets up with passionate Mars at 14-15° Leo. Early September is therefore a good time to declare your love, show your true colours or put an end to any relationship that has run its course.
While Mercury Goes Retrograde
Meanwhile on 18th September, communication planet Mercury slows down and starts travelling backwards for the next three weeks through air sign Libra. Take things slowly, double check everything and ensure you communicate in a clear, unambiguous manner. During Mercury retrograde cycles, our perceptions often shift drastically as we receive information in new ways and process it unconsciously. Something important is calling for awareness – what could that be for you?
Cecil the Lion & Jupiter in Virgo -From Hubris to Humility
"Who can doubt the nature of the monstrous Lion, and the pursuits he prescribes for those born beneath his sign? The lion ever devises fresh fights and fresh warfare on animals, and lives on spoil and pillaging of flocks. The sons of the Lion are filled with the urge to adorn their proud portals with pelts and to hang up on their walls the captured prey, to bring the peace of terror to the woods, and to live upon plunder. …they display mangled limbs at the shop-front, slaughter to meet the demands of luxury, and count it gain to kill." [Astronomica, Manilius 1 st Cent AD ‘Those born under the Sign of Leo’]
Walter Palmer, the American dentist who shot and killed Cecil the lion (star attraction of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park) no doubt rues the day he decided to live out the Leo archetype so aptly described by Manilius 2000 years ago. Palmer and his family have gone into hiding, his dental clinic has closed down and he’s probably the most vilified person in the world right now. But whatever you think of Palmer’s lion hunting exploits, he is hardly alone in his love of trophy hunting – Safari Club International, the world’s leading competitive trophy hunting club, has more than 50,000 members and according to Palmer, what he did was perfectly legal! So why has he been singled out and made a scapegoat for everything from being rich and privileged, to being a cruel and corrupt animal killer to being convicted of sexual harassment ten years ago? Perhaps we can look to Leo the lion for answers?
Palmer shot, killed, skinned and beheaded poor Cecil in July when Jupiter was transiting the final degrees of fire sign Leo. Jupiter is the king of the gods and Leo king of the jungle – put these two together and ego energies are bound to run high, though those in the background who are neither kings nor gods may start to feel resentful. The Latin word for ‘head’ is ‘caput’ with its derivation ’capo’ meaning ‘head’ or ‘chief’. When we cut off someone’s head, or ‘decapitate’ them, we symbolically take their power and become the new king. This surely is the underlying motivation behind trophy hunting and indeed behind the mass beheadings by ISIS, many of which have occurred under Jupiter in Leo. Another historical period marked by mass beheadings was the French Revolution when disenfranchised and angry Parisians decapitated kings, queens and noblemen with the guillotine. The French Revolution (slogan Liberty, Equality & Fraternity) began in 1789 when Jupiter was in Leo.
Last month (August) Jupiter shifted into humble earth sign Virgo, a zodiac sign where he is considered to be ‘in detriment’ meaning ‘not fully effective’. The king’s power is weakened and his hands tied. But is this such a bad thing? If Jupiter represents our collective consciousness (Jupiter spends approximately a year in each sign of the zodiac), we are currently shifting from Jupiter in Leo (glitz, glamour, ego-consciousness, creativity, exciting possibilities, feeling special and unique) to Jupiter in Virgo (healing, nourishing, sharing, humility, respect, environmental-consciousness, service and mind-body balance). The symbol for Virgo is a maiden holding a sheaf of grain, representing her connection with the land, the harvest and the food we eat.
On a broader stage, the fixed star Regulus, a royal star of Persia, sometimes called ‘The Lion’s Heart’, has also recently shifted from Leo to Virgo for the first time in over 2000 years. Many astrologers have written about this change in archetype from proud masculine Leo to the more humble feminine sign of Virgo and what this might mean for humanity over the next two millennia. Most of us know that we have to take better care of our planet, or risk driving ourselves and other species into extinction and the ‘feminine’ as a spiritual archetype is gradually beginning to be embraced and integrated into many religious traditions. Meanwhile, powerful elites and societies ruled by money and power are coming under the microscope (cf USA Federal Reserve) and protestors are taking to the streets. With Regulus and more recently Jupiter moving into Virgo, we are all being called to create a better world. Ironically, Cecil the Lion’s untimely demise has been a catalyst for some of these changes. In the past couple of months:
-UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to step up government efforts to protect wildlife. -Nearly 400,000 people have signed a petition asking for Delta airlines to stop allowing hunting trophies as cargo. -US Senator Bob Menendez announced he would introduce legislation to discourage trophy hunting.
Cecil’s death has also started a public debate about trophy hunting’s relationship to conservation, and who really makes money off the practice. It has brought up issues about the role of elites and land reform in Zimbabwe. And it has made people ask why a lion’s death has attracted more attention than other more important Third World issues. With the shift from Leo to Virgo, several of our own Australian politicians and sportsmen have been forced to face difficult questions about their own sense of privilege and entitlement. Helicopter ride anyone? In the future lion killers and fat cats like Mr Palmer will eventually go the way of the French monarchy while those who adopt an attitude of service to the sacred and help heal planet earth and her precious resources will be the new kings and heroes. RIP Cecil (whose name means ‘blindness’).
September Eclipses Dream Big & Take Calculated Risks
A partial solar eclipse occurs at this month’s new moon on 13th September in mutable earth sign Virgo (20-21°). A solar eclipse always packs a punch as the moon comes between the sun and the earth, interrupting the flow of energy and provoking a flow of lunar consciousness, forcing us out of habitual behaviour. Plant practical seeds at this springtime new moon and make sure you dream big!
The September full moon falls on 28th September in fire sign Aries (4-5°) accompanied by a lunar eclipse. Eclipses traditionally mark endings and new beginnings, both internally and externally. Coinciding with Saturn’s re-entry into fellow fire sign Sagittarius, this Aries full moon encourages you to take some calculated risks then work hard over the coming months to bring your dreams to fruition.
Featured Sign-Virgo
This year 2015, the Sun travels through earth sign Virgo from 23rd August until 23rd September, the spring equinox. Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac with keywords “I discern” and “I seek order. Virgo’s symbol is the Virgin, the independent woman who answered to no man, but served the Goddess herself. Born to serve and heal, Virgos are noted for their calm demeanour, attention to detail, healing energies, love of nature and mastery of art and craft. When in balance, they are one of the most practical, kind-hearted and caring zodiac signs with an intuitive understanding of the mind-body connection. Usually blessed with fine minds, they are masters of research, data and language. Negatively, the Virgo individual can suffer from hypochondria, be over-critical, especially of self, highly-strung and prone to permanent worry and anxiety. Virgo rules the abdomen, intestines, spleen and central nervous system. When Virgos are out of balance they can suffer from nervous problems, and digestive disorders. Meditation, relaxation, gentle stretching, nourishing food and time in nature will help Virgo stay centred. The Virgo colours are earthy tones, green and dark brown. Virgo’s greatest lesson is to learn to be perfectly imperfect and accept imperfection in both self and others.
September Moon Calendar
Launch projects at the New Moon, bring them to completion in the period from just before the Full Moon to the Third Quarter phase and wind them down and reflect on developments in the week before the next New Moon. The period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is the waxing moon (moon getting bigger and fuller). The period between the Full Moon and the New Moon is the waning moon (moon getting smaller and thinner).
You can use this moon table to select the most favourable days to slow or increase hair regrowth. Full instructions can be found in my Lunar Hair Care guidelines at www.stellastarwoman.com/files/LunarHairCare.pdf but to get you started I’ve marked the best dates for waxing/shaving to slow regrowth in yellow and the best dates to cut hair for thicker, lusher growth in green. If you’re serious about Lunar Hair Care - order your own Moon Calendar from the Stella Starwoman Store then you’ll know exactly what time of day the moon changes from one zodiac sign to the next meaning you can fine-tune your activities with confidence.
Thanks for being part of AstroUpdate. If there’s something you’d like to see featured, or have something you think would interest others, please contact me at stella@stellastarwoman.com
PS – Don’t forget to check out your September Monthly Stars at www.stellastarwoman.com to see what’s coming up for you this month.
Happy Stargazing
Stella Woods