Number 40                                                   christiner@netspace.net.au

 July 17 sees the second exact conjunction of Pluto with the Galactic Centre. Many people are marking this by linking up their energies through a special meditation called Firing the Grid. [Details can be found below.]

 Astrology classes resume on July 19 & 20 with an in-depth exploration of the houses and aspects. Students with some knowledge of the signs and planets are welcome to join in.

 The next Heart Awareness workshop is scheduled for August 4. This is a nurturing day that will introduce you to simple yet powerful meditative techniques and processes to allow you to access the intuitive wisdom and healing power of your heart.

 I have finally gone digital; readings are now available on CD [as well as cassette for those of you who still have cassette players]. Consultations are available in person, by mail or as recorded phone sessions. Details of prices are on my website.

 Blessings

Christine

 Christine Rothwell

' 03 9584 6532

Email: christiner@netspace.net.au

Website: www.christinerothwell.com

 Contents

1. July Overview
2. Pluto conjunct the Galactic Centre – Firing the Grid
3. Venus Retrograde
4. Courses and Workshop Information

      Heart Awareness Workshop on August 4

      Astrology Classes  held 7pm Thursday  & 10am Friday

5. Consultations and Gift Certificates

 1.    July Overview

July is another very powerful month with five planets retrograde most of the month and Pluto making its second exact alignment with the Galactic Centre. This suggests that July is a very potent time for reflection and inner work of all kinds. The term SOUL SEARCHING seems most appropriate to describe the astrological mood for July.

 If you are asking yourself big questions, then you are intuitively in touch with this energy. Just allow yourself not to know all the answers at the moment!   Surrender the need to know the big picture and if you can, TRUST THE PROCESS and don’t let anxiety and fear muddy your vision. All will be revealed in its own time. [Section two covers this in more detail.]

 Mercury began a new cycle on June 29 when Mercury conjuncted the Sun. Mercury is currently retrograde and will move direct on July 10.  . Esoteric writers suggest that the retrograde phase of Mercury creates an opening that allows access to the wisdom of our soul.

 The whole retrograde phase is a potent time for reflection and review – time to re- align our thinking with the person we are now. This is a great time to meditate, reflect, research, seek answers, sort out your paperwork, return calls and generally attend to all the things you have been too busy to do earlier.  The insights that you have gained during this time can be acted upon after July 10, when Mercury moves direct.

 Venus is coming to the end of Her current sojourn as Evening Star and as part of this process will turn retrograde on July 28. She will disappear from the sky around August 12 and reappear on August 24 as the Morning Star where She will preside for the next 7 months. [More information in section 3].

 2. Pluto’s Second Exact Conjunction with the Galactic Centre

The Galactic Centre [GC] is currently found at 26° 57.4 Sagittarius. This is the central point of the Milky Way galaxy that our Solar System [and the whole galaxy] revolves around…. The opposite point is the Galactic Anti-Centre [GAC], found in the sign of Gemini. The area of the GAC contains not only the constellation of Gemini, but also Orion and the Pleiades. The Plains Indians of the US referred to this area as the Sacred Hoop and considered it an auspicious area of the sky for planets to transit.

 This area has been seen as a source of sacred knowledge and initiation by many cultures throughout history. The Sphinx is oriented towards Orion who the Egyptians revered as the God Osiris who presided over the Halls of Judgement. The Pleiades have been linked with the Atlantean Civilization and its 7 stars are said to be 7 schools of esoteric wisdom where initiates received training in the Mysteries. [Newsletter 29]

 Pluto is currently making three exact conjunctions of this point [and oppositions to the Galactic Anti Centre] as it transits through the late degrees of the sign of Sagittarius.

1. 29 December 2006
2. 17 July 2007
3. 28 October 2007

Pluto is a transpersonal planet that serves the soul rather than the ego. Transits of transpersonal planets usually push us out of our comfort zone and into unchartered territory.  Pluto conjunct the Galactic Centre is accelerating the process of change, forcing us personally and collectively to face our fears and move forward into what may seem to be a strange new world.

 Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the Sun and therefore conjuncts this point once [usually three exact alignments over a 12 month period] in this time. The last time this happened was in 1745, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The old agrarian order was giving way to a very different way of life that has altered the fabric of our society irrevocably. We are facing a similar massive paradigm shift right now!

 Today we know that our world is changing, but we are not sure what the new order will be like. Many of us are making huge changes in our lives [or wanting to] and are filled with a mixture of hope and excitement mixed with fear and dread. Pluto is a messenger of change; as God of Death and Rebirth he commands us to let go of the past so something new can take its place. Yet the process of letting go is very fearful and brings up primitive survival instincts that prompt us to hold on to what we know, as the only option feels like annihilation.

 The Galactic Centre is said to contain a black hole – the ultimate Plutonic void or emptiness - but a space that esoteric writers tell us is the ‘home of the gods’ and a place of mystery and creation. Pluto as the God of Transformation governs the process of Death and Rebirth and invites [or commands] us to enter this void and allow ourselves to experience transformation and regeneration. To do this we must

o       face our shadows and fears – perhaps befriend this part of us and find a way to listen to the kernel of truth that is found in all our fears

o       let go whatever does not serve our wholeness

o       let go the need to control through fear

o       trust in the emptiness that first appears

o       allow for the process of rebirth that is Pluto’s gift.

People with points [natal or progressed] near the Galactic centre or Anti Centre [late degrees of Sagittarius and Gemini] may be feeling this energy most powerfully. From an esoteric perspective, individuals with planets around these points have most likely been initiates into these Mysteries in past lives and may currently be

      experiencing re-awakening past knowledge

      challenged to once more become a channel for this wisdom

      remembering past life experiences and perhaps experiencing events that resonate with these lives in order to clear negative karma

      tempted to use this wisdom to gain personal power

      having the opportunity to atone for any past life abuse or misuse of this wisdom

 The Plutonic principle is all about letting go and surrendering our ego attachment and the control patterns that come through fear. The fear may be around accepting the role of channel because of past life persecution or abuse of the knowledge. It is possible that you are re-creating a past life scenario or power struggle in order to heal. Pluto transits are always about INITIATION, but often initiation that comes through facing our own dark sides.

 My suggestion: centre and allow your heart to guide you. Do what FEELS RIGHT –not what you think is right – or what you have always done.

 The image of the Galactic Centre speaks to me of two important messages for humanity.

1. The need to discover and hold our centre during this time of transformation. It is our centre that will anchor us and allow us to stay grounded and connected to spirit through-out this process.

2. The OPPORTUNITY to align with potent, transformative wisdom symbolized by the Galactic Centre. This can take us into unchartered realms that may awaken new levels of consciousness and understandings of reality.

 We are experiencing what has been called a SHIFT or ASCENSION and transformative changes on this scale are never easy. Pluto is calling us to let go old out dated ways of being and doing. The old ways /models are decaying yet there is no clear path ahead.  We must find a way to TRUST THIS PROCESS and face the fears that prevent us moving forward.

 Astrologer Eileen Nauman has a very interesting article on the Medicine Garden website titled A Crack in the Cosmic Egg 2006-2007: Are You Prepared? www.medicinegarden.com/astrology/cosmic_egg_GC.html

Firing the Grid - as Pluto aligns with the Galactic Centre

On July 17, 2007, we are all being asked to participate in Firing the Grid of the Earth.  The intent is to pulse healing energy into the centre of the Earth and regenerate the core, or the heart of the planet. The time has been set for 11:11 am Greenwich Mean Time. [That is 10 hours later for AEST - 9:11pm for the East coast of Australia].  The idea is to simply sit and pray or meditate for one hour during that time. The aim is to heal our planet and awaken our souls to our true purpose… to become one with our Source of Light and anchor this light once more on our beloved planet.

3. Venus Retrograde

 The planet Venus moves retrograde on July 28 and will resume direct motion on September 9. Venus moves retrograde every 19 months. At the beginning of this period She is the Evening Star but She will disappear into the Sun’s blaze and will reappear in late August as the Morning Star.

 Key dates

• July 28 to September 9: Venus retrograde
• Sphere of influence: June 24 to October 13 [Her transit between 3 Virgo and 16 Leo]
• August 18: Venus conjunct the Sun – a new cycle is seeded
• August 12 to about 24: Venus disappears from the shy
• August 25 [approximately]: Venus reappears as the Morning Star

 When Venus moves retrograde [appears to be moving backwards against the heavens from our vantage point on Earth] , She challenges us to review all things Venusian as well as the area of our life where Venus is transiting in the personal birth chart. The Venus principle is essentially about how our values and self esteem are reflected back to us through our relationships, possessions and finances. Many of you may be going through a process of re-evaluating these areas of your life. Often our lives feature many habitual and unconscious values and attitudes that require questioning and revision. The retrograde period of Venus signals such a time.

 The current energy can signal a crisis in any of the above areas, especially for those with planets in Leo and Aquarius. Suddenly your relationships, career, finances or anything else you VALUE may demand your attention. You may be questioning something you had previously accepted or taken for granted. If you find yourself in such a crisis the following guidelines may help.

 Trust what you feel, rather than what you think - let your heart give you the answer.

• Don’t make a decision because you feel you should or because you can’t stand the anxiety of not knowing. This anxiety may be just what you need.
• Remember that Venus retrograde is a process, not an event.
• Be prepared to wait until Venus goes direct before you commit yourself.

 Remember, whenever a planet moves retrograde it offers us a new perspective. A doorway opens and we have the opportunity to develop a more objective viewpoint. It suggests a time to review and refocus.

 Sometimes we realize the need to develop a new set of values that support the person we are now and let go old conditioned values and responses. Our tastes may change to reflect this shift as we see people, situations and things in a new light. This is not the time for major acquisitions or decisions. Sometimes the pendulum may swing to the opposite extreme before it settles in a new more centred place.

 New attitudes and values may crystallize around the time of the conjunction with the Sun – August 18. This can be a time of insight and illumination. The heliacal rising of Venus [when She will reappear in the sky as the Morning Star] on August 24 is the call to action. The ancients Babylonians and the Mayans used this as a time to attack  Personally it may be a time when we are vulnerable to attack in the area of the chart where Venus is transiting, especially if we are operating from values that no longer reflect the person we are now.

 Collectively the heliacal rising is often a time when leaders fail and / or resign. Certainly the whole retrograde period can signal a time of global review that reflects a change in collective values.

 

Courses, Workshops and Classes Contact Christine on 9584 6532 or christiner@netspace.net.au for more information or to reserve your place.

 

Heart Awareness:  Saturday August 4

  This workshop will introduce you to simple yet powerful meditative techniques that will allow you to access the intuitive wisdom and healing power of your heart.

 

Heart Awareness gives you the tools to use throughout the day to manage stress and feel more peaceful and heart centred. The optional second day on September 1 will introduce you to a process to work through old negative patterns and problems, see them in a new light and discover creative solutions.

 

Ring or email for a brochure

 

 

Astrology Classes resume July 19 & 20

7pmThursday in Beaumaris & 10am Friday in Mentone

 

This term covers an in-depth look at the houses of the horoscope then moves onto aspects. If you have some knowledge of signs and planets you are welcome to join one of the classes.

Blessings

Christine Rothwell