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Ophiuchus Jewelry! |
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You've probably heard the rumors about there being a new 13th Zodiac sign, Ophiuchus. This isn't news - when I was an astronomer and first invented Wandering Star Astrology Jewelry, my first question was "what about Ophiuchus?" There was another constellation around the ecliptic, the path the sun traveled.
 I soon learned that Western Astrology didn't actually even use the real positions of the constellations - it's based on the seasons: the equinoxes and solstices. Aries starts on the first day of Spring, Cancer is the first day of Summer, Libra is on the first day of Autumn, and Capricorn starts Winter. The rest of the signs divide the seasons up into thirds.
The constellations are not all the same size. Cancer is small; it
doesn't even have any bright stars. Pisces is enormous. Most of
Ophiuchus is above the Zodiac ecliptic - only part of it falls between
Scorpio and Sagittarius.Thousands of years ago, the sun didn't go through it.
So even though I'm a Cancer, when I was born the sun was in front of the Gemini Constellation. That's called Sidereal Astrology, and the Vedic Astrology system used in India works this way...but they don't even use the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), so it's a very different system.
In any case, if you really want to merge Western and Vedic Astrology and invent a brand new Zodiac sign, go for it. I'll even help you!
I created an Ophiuchus bracelet for those of you with birthdays between November 30 and December 17.
The bracelet features a rare 18mm Quartz Crystal, teasing the clarity of the debate while enhancing the Ophiuchus trait as a seeker of wisdom and knowledge. The gray matted vitriol handpressed glass beads flash with multicolored accents, mixing the gray area of the missing constellation with the vibrant colors of the Scorpio/Sag mix.
If you're an "Ophichus" along with your Sagittarius, get this bracelet and celebrate your unique place in space! $34.95
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New International Shipping Option |
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 If you live overseas, we have a new optional service to help with Shipping! For $5, Bongo International will provide you a US address, and they'll ship the package to you, including tracking and insurance. If you order products from multiple websites, they'll also consolidate your orders and ship them all together.
To set up your account, you'll see links thoughout our website. If you live outside the US, take advantage of this service so you won't have to wonder if and when your package wil arrive!
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Winter Solstice 2010 |
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 It's Winter Solstice, and we anxiously await the return of the Sun. Not that it's really "gone", although it sure seems that way. This time of year, in the northern hemisphere, gives us the shortest length of daylight for the three days around the solstice, after which the span between sunrise and sunset begins to lengthen. While most call this the first day of winter, it is traditionally mid-winter, as, indeed, with the turning of the light we can sense the turning of the seasons. Seeds and bulbs planted now will burst forth in a few short months.
So what seeds might the Ingress chart have for us this time?
Looking at the chart you'll see a large grouping of planets in one small area. Retrograde Mercury in late Sagittarius, the Sun at 0 Capricorn, Pluto at 04 Capricorn and Mars at 10 Capricorn. Such a tight grouping, three or more planets in one sign (or sometimes in one house) is commonly called a stellium and suggests an intense focus of energy in this area. So the Ingress chart wants us to spend extra time dealing with this part of our chart. Since Mercury is retrograde it also suggests that it might be a good idea to re-examine what we’re doing in this area of our lives, and to not rush in to any changes we might be considering. Sun conjunct Pluto, at the same time, pushes us to make some major changes. Mars is also there, pushing us to take some action. So we see strong pressure to make some changes in the area of our life that is under Capricorn's influence, but also a caution to not rush in.
This stellium is also opposite the chart's Moon, highlighting the emotional tension such an impetus for change can bring. The Cancer Moon here is very interested in hanging on to what gives us comfort and a sense of security, whether or not such actions and attitudes are still productive for us. Sometimes our habits can trip us up, but they are certainly hard to change. Part of the Capricorn energy here might be productively used to take control of those habits instead of continuing to let them control us, and face the emotional stress that goes along with the change.
Jupiter and Uranus continue their conjunction, another indication of the continuing pressure for change. They make an out of sign square to the Sun in this chart, so their influence may not be obvious. Unlike the opposition, the square isn't something right out in front of us, but comes at us from the side. Sometimes this can be more of a problem, since it can seem unexpected. They also are in square to the retrograde Mercury, highlighting the importance of this messenger in the Ingress chart. Again, don't allow yourself to be rushed into hasty decisions on what or where to change, but give it diligent thought and consideration.
Saturn is still in Libra (and will be until October of 2012), and sits square to Mars, providing another indication of a need for personal responsibility in our actions. While Saturn in Libra is concerned with taking such responsibility in our relationships, the square to Mars in Capricorn suggests some sort of delaying action on our ability to take action. Saturn - Mars aspects are sometimes said to feel like "driving with the brakes on," but since here it actually reinforces the message of the retrograde Mercury, it may actually help us avoid taking rash - and regretted - action.
Not that any of these indications are telling us to not make changes. Rather, we have an opportunity to make changes, to plant new seeds of personal growth, to change old habits, but we are also being cautioned to not take precipitate action, but to spend some time during the dark of the Sun to honestly evaluate what we have been doing, and what changes will be more productive in our lives and for achieving our goals.
Indeed, the message of Capricorn is to help us work toward our goals. Where Capricorn falls in your personal chart suggests where you tend to be managerial, disciplined and hard working. (Not to be confused with the 10th House, the area of life most directly related to how we make our mark in the world.) So see where this stellium falls in your birth chart. That house (or houses, as it may span a couple) is where you should spend some time thinking about how you have been managing that area of your life. What works? Can you make some changes to allow it to work better? What doesn't? What can you change about what doesn't work to make it work? Can it be changed, or do you have to eliminate it?
Use the keywords below to start thinking about where you might want to plant some new seeds. Books have been written about the meaning of each house, so obviously this small listing is only to get you thinking about the possibilities!
Although each "pie-slice" of a horoscope is called a "house," each house can be viewed as if it were a different room in a big house. Different activities go on in different rooms. The line marking the entry to each room, moving counter-clockwise around the wheel, is called the "cusp" of the house, and is like the doorway into the room.
1st House: Doorway is called the Ascendant or the Rising Sign. Personality, physical body
2nd House: values, personal resources, moveable possessions
3rd House: immediate environment, siblings, short trips
4th House: Doorway is called Imum Coeli or IC. Personal roots, home, family, tradition
5th House: creative self-expression, love affairs, speculation
6th House: work, service, health, daily routine, job
7th House: Doorway is called Descendant. Partners, contracts, advisors, one-to-one relations
8th House: debts, partner's values and possessions, sex, death, rebirth
9th House: higher education, philosophy, religion, long journeys
10th House: Doorway is called Median Coeli, MC, or MidHeaven. Reputation, career, profession, vocation
11th House: friends, hopes and wishes, groups, group associations and ideals
12th House: subconscious, the past, hidden matters
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New Product! Zodiac Watches |
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We have a new product for you - Zodiac Watches! For both women & men, they feature a sun, star, moon, and your zodiac character. They come in both gold and silver, a wide variety of watchband colors, AND you can even personalize it with up to 15 characters. Click here to check them out!
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Sundials are back! |
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 Our Sundials and Star dials ("Aquitaines") are back! Tell time by the sun or the stars with these brass and pewter necklaces, just as they did in ancient times. These really work! We carried them for years, and thought they were discontinued. But we got a call from the manufacturer, and are delighted to be able to offer them to you in time for the holidays. Order one for daytime or nighttime, and get $5 off for buying both. Click here for more information!
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New Earth-Like Planet Discovered |
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 From the New York Times:
It might be a place that only a lichen or pond scum could love, but astronomers said Wednesday that they had found a very distant planet capable of harboring water on its surface, thus potentially making it a home for plant or animal life.
Nobody from Earth will be visiting anytime soon: The planet, which goes by the bumpy name of Gliese 581g, is orbiting a star about 20 light-years away in the constellation Libra.
But if the finding is confirmed by other astronomers, the planet, which has three to four times the mass of Earth, would be the most Earthlike planet yet discovered, and the first to meet the criteria for being potentially habitable.
“It’s been a long haul,” said Steven S. Vogt of the University of California, Santa Cruz, who, along with R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, led the team that made the discovery. “This is the first exoplanet that has the right conditions for water to exist on its surface.”
In a recent report for the National Academy of Science, astronomers declared the finding of such planets one of the major goals of this decade. NASA’s Kepler satellite — which was launched in March 2009 as a way to detect Earthlike bodies — is expected to harvest dozens or hundreds.
Gliese 581g (whose first name is pronounced GLEE-za) circles a dim red star known as Gliese 581, once every 37 days, at a distance of about 14 million miles. That is smack in the middle of the so-called Goldilocks zone, where the heat from the star is neither too cold nor too hot for water to exist in liquid form on its surface.
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Read more...
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Fall Equinox 2010 |
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 By David Ockrassa, Through the Looking Glass
The Autumn Equinox this year sees us well beyond the Cardinal Cross of the Summer Solstice, since the Sun was one of the points of that pattern and has moved on 90 degrees in the zodiac. We still have a powerful T-Square configuration going, but this pattern is generally easier to deal with than when all four points of the compass have planets. The empty point, which is around 00 Cancer for this chart, often indicates an area where we can deliberately focus our energy and attention to resolve the tension of the T-Square.
The Sun entering Libra always speaks about relationship issues. As the prime indicator of harvest time (in common parlance the beginning of Autumn, but in a more traditional sense the middle of Autumn, just as the Summer Solstice is really mid-summer!), an additional layer of meaning can be seen in our relationship to the earth and the rewards we can now reap from the spring planting and the summer of tending to growth, fertilizing our crops and weeding out what is counter-productive. Of course, in our society, few of us are farmers in the agricultural sense. But we all do reap what we sow (at least eventually!), and now is a good time to evaluate how well we have done our work of tending to the growth, nurturing and weeding of our relationships. Fall is a time for looking within, for coming to terms with our work during the previous seasons, and for preparing ourselves to move into the closing time of the year. This can often mean, as well, a time to start considering what seeds we want to plant at the coming Winter Solstice, considered by some to be the start of the astrological year. While it can be viewed as a time of rest from our labors “in the field”, it really suggests that a different type of work is now in store for us. Much as the farmers outside chores shift to inside – canning, repairing machinery and so on – so our work will shift to “inside” work as well.
Sitting loosely opposite Jupiter and Uranus, the Sun urges us to consider what may feel like energies coming from outside. But these tend to be visible to us, similar to someone sitting across a table, right in front of us and hard to miss. Uranus wants us to change our old habits, and Jupiter wants to do so in a big way. Less obvious in our minds is the energy of the square from Pluto. (Squares can be viewed as a person sitting off to the side of us at the table, in our peripheral view.) Of course, Pluto also demands change, so this chart shows a lot of pressure on us to make some changes – or to at least consider them carefully and honestly. Uranus wants change for the sake of change, while Jupiter just wants lots of whatever he touches. Yet Pluto wants meaningful change, wants us to be ruthless in eliminating what is no longer useful in our lives, no matter how painful that letting go may be.
The Sun is conjunct Saturn, so there is a need for self-discipline in this chart, too. Taking personal responsibility to make necessary changes, or an honest evaluation that some things are OK to leave unchanged, will be the best way to handle this Equinox. Being honest does not mean being self-effacing or dismissive, it does not mean self-loathing. It does require an impartial accounting, accepting what we have done right and what we haven’t done right, so we can then see what steps can be taken to improve on both counts. Being true to our selves involves a type of honest appraisal that accepts the truth that we all make mistakes, we all do some things right, and we all have the capacity to learn from both.
Did you make any changes under the pressures of the earlier Cardinal Cross? If so, now is a good time to evaluate their success – or lack of! Since the Sun is square it’s position in that chart, such an evaluation and potential re-direction is clearly an option. If you didn’t make any changes then – either by choice or not – then now is a good time to re-evaluate that decision (or indecision!), keeping yourself open to the possibility of change.
The empty spot for this configuration, as mentioned, is around the 00 Cancer point. The house in your chart where this falls, and any planets you may have near that point, can give you some clues about how to deal with this aspect pattern. Pay particular attention to that house when you consider the pressure to evaluate and / or change your relationship style.
Some key concepts to get you started:
1st house – how you relate to your self image
2nd house – how you relate to your values, value system and possessions
3rd house – how you relate to your local environs, siblings, how you gather and process information
4th house – how you relate to your home, your personal foundations and how you provide for your security
5th house – how you relate to your children, artistic endeavors, risky behavior
6th house – your work, daily routines and health
7th house – how you relate on a one-to-one level
8th house – how you relate to your partner’s resources, sex, death, rebirth
9th house – how you relate to your belief systems, how you feel about what’s beyond your immediate locale
10th house – how you relate to your ultimate goals in life, how you want to be remembered
11th house – how you relate to your broader circle of friends and associates
12th house – how you relate to your core beliefs and /or how you hold yourself back
Of course, these brief snippets barely scratch the surface of meaning of each house!
As we move further into the autumn of the year, we need to become more aware of where and how we interact in our relationships, not just with others but also with ourselves. By choosing to use the energies of the planets we can maximize our results.
Take this time to consider the words of Polonius to his son Laertes (Shakespeare’s Hamlet):
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!
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Mercury Retrograde |
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By Mark Dodich, AstroMark.us
Mercury turned retrograde on Aug. 20th and goes on through Sept. 12th. This communications breakdown cycle goes backwards from 20-5 degrees of detail-oriented Virgo. If you have natal planets at those degrees, you are even more highly affected by this re-visioning cycle. For everyone, it is time to pull back and tend to all the little things that you have been putting off. (Like installing or learning new software, getting those gutters cleaned before fall, or other equally exciting projects).
At the same time, relationship planets Venus and Mars are traveling close together for the next six weeks, currently in Libra and then in Scorpio. This is an alignment that normally only lasts a few days, so their extended dance together is meaningful. Your love life and ambition , and values surrounding those important aspects of life, is going to change before the not so distant Thanksgiving Day holiday in late November. It may be that those desires which held your attention are going away to make room for something new in the area of love and money. For others, those aspects of your life will simply go through adjustments. Either way, something or someone is going to be released.
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Newsletter correction |
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In our last newsletter, we noted that August 2010 has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays, and 5 Tuesdays, but incorrectly stated that this won't happen again for another 835 years. Well, we got suckered by internet misinformation...the next occurrence will be in 2021, 11 years from now.
Special thanks to loyal reader Marilyn for pointing this out!
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Summer Solstice 2010 |
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 It's Cancer Ingress time again, and this year we see, among other things, a combination of the much talked about Grand Cross (4 planets or more all in square to each other) and the less - if at all - mentioned Grand Trine (3 planets or more all trine to each other.) One planet - the Sun - is in both patterns and may provide a key to understanding this complex arrangement in the sky.
As always, Ingress charts are all about new beginnings. The Cancer Ingress, often mentioned as the start of summer, is, of course, really mid-summer. The light in the northern hemisphere begins to wane, as we have the longest day on the day of the summer solstice. So what are we to begin as the light begins to fade?
The Sun, of course, is at 0 degrees of Cancer. It is in a separating square to Saturn, which is in an applying square to Pluto, which in turn is in a applying square (because Pluto is currently retrograde) to Jupiter and Uranus. A lot of heavyweight planets here, and all but Saturn in Cardinal signs. While many have written of this as the "Cardinal Climax" or "Cardinal Crisis", only a few have talked about the nature of Cardinal signs - they are the initiators of the Zodiac. Granted, new beginnings often require the end of the old ways, to make room for new growth. The seed must change for the shoot to come forth. But I think many have done us a disservice by focusing on the "crisis" and ignoring the opportunity.
And opportunities abound in this chart!
Squares and oppositions, of course, are always indicators of challenge and stress. Having the Grand Cross overhead, we‚re certainly feeling that, both globally and personally. The Sun Pluto opposition shows the challenge between the new beginnings we are being encouraged to pursue and the old, established ways of doing things. Yet Pluto in Capricorn is also a strong impulse to totally renovate the old order, so this may not be such a hard aspect to deal with. The Sun in Cancer wants to nurture and comfort us, and Pluto says that the old ways may not be as beneficial as we've been led to believe. The Sun is making a wide, out of sign, square to Saturn, another indicator of the old order of things. We can view Saturn as the establishment, trying to hold us back, or we can view it as our own need to come to terms with our personal responsibility. Since Saturn is in Virgo in this chart, that responsibility should extend to our making sure of the details, to "getting it right" this time, as we contemplate the changes we want and need to make.
The Sun also squares the combination of Jupiter and Uranus. These two planets conjunct each other have a strong message all by themselves. Jupiter tends to increase whatever it touches. Uranus is a symbol of the unexpected and of change, often just for the sake of change. So together they have the potential to stir up a lot things that we maybe haven't been consciously aware of. The aspect from the Sun urges us to become aware, and to bring to the front of our minds what changes are being asked for. The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction is, of course, opposite Saturn, so the conflict between change for the sake of change and responsibility is highlighted. Again, be willing to make the changes, but be aware of the need to be precise in what is allowed (or compelled!) to end and also of what is allowed to begin. All of these are also square Pluto, which puts a lot of pressure on them to actually make the changes, not just think about them.
Trines show an easy blending of the energies of the planets involved. Where squares and oppositions show challenges, trines show us where we can easily flow, where we can get support. The Sun is trine to the Moon in the Ingress chart, and the Moon is trine to Neptune, which is also trine the Sun, completing the Grand Trine pattern.
A Sun - Moon trine provides an easy blending of mind and heart. They are both, in this instance, in Cardinal signs, even though the Moon will soon move into Scorpio. Both are concerned with new beginnings, and having both our conscious and subconscious on the same wavelength helps to keep our focus on what is needed to start. Having both of the Lights in trine to Neptune brings in the potential to strive for our higher dreams of what new things we‚d like to try. Of course, Neptune is also the possibility of deception or self-deception, so keep that in mind.
So how do we pull all these energies together?
The Sun at 0 degrees Cancer is the one object common to both of these patterns. This Sun illuminates all it touches, and it touches all the planets in both the Grand Square and the Grand Trine. The Sun in Cancer wants to take care of home and hearth, to tend to the security of family.
On both the personal and the global levels, we are being hit by stresses that ask us to reevaluate the old ways we‚ve been using to take care of those issues. Pluto continues to tell us that the old ways are not working as effectively as they should. Uranus and Jupiter want us to make big changes, perhaps radical changes. Saturn reminds us to pay attention to the details, to not just make sweeping changes, but to make the precise changes with the ultimate goals clearly in mind. Neptune inspires us to make these changes for the greater good, and, hopefully, not for a brief "feel-good" moment.
We need to be willing to let go of the old ways that no longer work. Old habits die hard, the saying goes. But hard aspects in a chart push us to make those changes. The stronger the pressure, the more likely we are to make those changes. This chart pushes us our of our comfort zone - and until we're out of that zone, we probably won't make the needed changes, although others may well force them on us. Keep hold of the dreams of Neptune, use the Grand Cross push to make sure those are aspirations and not illusions, and go with the Grand Cross to make the new starts shown.
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Customer Testimonials |
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"It's been a year since I received my natal chart necklace and I can't imagine gaoing a day without wearing it. From the first time I clasped it, I felt a sense of rightness and alignment.
My necklace has been a beautiful and useful tool as I learn more about astrology.
When I put it on every morning I feel connected to my highest source of wisdom and surrounded by the energetic signature of my destiny.
The more I grow spiritually, the more uses I think of for it, and I'm enjoying formulating affirmations for each major bead. Thank you for your beautiful work!" Sarah P., Portland OR
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Brand New Aromatherapy Products! |
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Zodiac Handcrafted Organic Herbal Essential Oil Soaps
Soaps are back! Handcrafted on a small family lavender farm in Washington State, these essential oil aromatherapy soaps feature wildcrafted organic herbs and NO animal products!
Each is blended with oils specifically chosen for your Zodiac sign to bring out your essential nature.
Plus, they're gorgeous! Click here for details and more pictures .
Aromatherapy Bath Kits
Then, we also have SolaLUNA's Bath Therapy Kits. Each is a clear box with 15 teabags for your bath, with five planetary herbal prescriptions to relax your body and uplift your spirit, chosen for your Zodiac sign. The herbs are wildcrafted and organic. Click here for details and more pictures .
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