New Moon in Leo: The Heart of a Lion

This Sunday, August 8, we have a New Moon in the fixed fire sign of Leo the Lion. This quality of time is a portal to higher consciousness known as the Lion’s Gate. This portal occurs every year on August 8^th; it’s super-charged this year due to the fact that it falls exactly on a New Moon. Seeds planted in your life, your heart, your relationships, and your community are extra-potent, and will bear fruit over the next six months to a year, so pay attention.

The energy of Leo has a charge in this life: stand up, stand tall – be courageous. Sometimes, Leo has to roar loudly and fiercely; most of the time, the Lion is content to proudly traverse his Serengeti and take care of his personal pride-community, and the lioness hunts and kills only that which is needed.

Wherever Leo is in our chart we will see where this new powerful fire can come in and ignite our lives. Leo rules the physical heart as well as the back. Pay attention to this part of the body in these days. Breathwork can help the heart center and back body to open up and receive more love and light. Alongside stretching and strengthening practices, it can help keep you healthy.

With so much fear and polarization spreading across the globe it can be hard or downright scary to speak up and out for our personal truth, for what is good and right and true for us as individuals. This is sovereignty – focusing on what we personally need and being willing to stand tall for it, alongside others, with love and respect.

Personal courage is needed these days. With Saturn in rebellious Aquarius opposing this New Moon, we are going to be challenged to hold strong in the face of opposition. Fear may arise, but that’s OK. Leo has courage, remember? Every single one of us has lionheartedness in our astrological charts somewhere.

Remember, courage is fear that has said its prayers. Fear and faith stand side by side. You may be quivering in your body-mind, but your feet will carry you forward and your voice will speak up even if it’s shaking.

Strength - VIII - Major Arcana of the Tarot

Trusting Your Heart: Discernment and Disinformation

In the media and social circles lately, there is much discussion of disinformation. Many alternative health practitioners and doctors are being censored, cancelled for recommending treatments and methods of staying healthy during the current pandemic. Individuals opting for natural immunity methods are being pressured and criticized for their choices. Information regarding access to affordable treatments or medications that may be helpful is disallowed on mainstream platforms. Why?

People are feeling confused, or even numb. Who can I trust? When is a fact a fact? What is going to keep me stay healthy or recover if I get ill? Can I trust my doctor or HMO? Can I trust the government? Why are videos and articles being taken down off of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook on the regular?

These are great questions. But the ultimate question here is, Can I trust myself?

Can you trust your gut? How practiced are you in listening to your own body, your intuition, your dreamtime guidance? Are you aware of your hunches when things ring true? How about when they feel “off” or “Not for me, thanks,” or even “I need more information” or “I need to wait for now”? Have you learned how to listen to your inner voice and trust it, 100%? This is what many of us have been working toward for decades. And it’s a great time to start practicing now if you’re new to other ways of knowing, aka “direct knowing.”

Think of how many times science and facts change over one’s lifetime. Eggs are bad for you. Fats are bad for you. Oh, wait, eggs and fat are good now? Asbestos is a great solution for insulation. Lead paint is the best for houses. Oh, wait, that’s now a hard no? I see, I see… everything changes. Facts are fluid. Information can be presented in a zillion ways. Reality is simply the agreed-upon collective narrative that we are aware of in any given moment. No one ever has the entire picture.

And yet, there is one way to know… And that is, trust the heart. Trust the gut. Trust your intuition. Learn to listen. Have courage. What is good and true and right for you cannot be falsified. It cannot be taken away. Stay present – one must be present to win the prize of direct knowing.

Keep your consciousness connected to the Divine, in Present Time. Because you are not separate from All That Is, whenever you act upon that which is good and true for you, your action’s outcome is going to be good and true for the other when it arises from a conscious and aware space. How could it not be?

There is no need to worry that you will make a mistake. From the perspective of the Infinite, there is no such thing. Rest your consciousness in the Self, as the Self, and know it is all unfolding perfectly.

And at this time of the Lion’s Gate, the portal of Truth and Courage and Strength, feel the natural resonance and strength and love and joy that comes from sovereign confidence. Your positive energy is a force of nature that will carry you, your loved ones, and your global community forth.

Stand tall. With love.

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.  

 

 

 

 

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Full Moon in Aquarius: The Call of the Wayshower

The Star-XVII, Universal Waite Tarot

This Friday, we welcome the Full Moon in the fixed air sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. Aquarius is symbolized by The Star in the Tarot, and the Eleventh House of Astrology. Here we find ideals and friends, groups and communities, and that which we call “The Future.” Aquarius is the sign of revolution, rebellion, and doing one’s own thing. Marching to one’s own drum.  Breaking rules, or changing them to suit one’s own values and perspectives du jour. At its healthiest expression, ‘taint nothin’ better than being an Aquarius and/or embracing the Aquarian Age – ‘specially if you’re a real freedom lover at heart.

Aquarius needs to break away, as she is the wayshower and not meant to fit in. If we all fit in and were accepted or acceptable by society, there would be no such thing as evolution of consciousness. We need Aquarian energy to give us the chutzpah to say what we see, to stand apart from the crowd, to tell the truth even if it means we aren’t understood for five, ten, fifty or five hundred years.

When we begin to accept this part of ourselves, rather than vilifying it or rejecting it simply because it seems too weird or challenging to our current perspectives, we begin to embrace and love being a truth-teller. We begin to realize that the truth of who we are can never be threatened, for we are timeless consciousness. The body and the reputation and the popularity and the bank account and the relationship? Well, they’re all appearances in time and space and they will certainly come and go. But the truth of who we are is infinite and eternal.

 Opening the Time Capsule

Fifteen years ago, at the Full Moon in Aquarius of 2006, I broke away myself from a safe professional role as a content manager and producer of the world’s #1 independent astrology and tarot websites. In the year or so prior, I’d begun having kundalini activation symptoms in my body-mind – some uncomfortable, some pleasurable, including insomnia, heat, shaking, and intensive series of lucid dreams every night. I was burning hot and so high I could not come down until I acknowledged the core of the message from my soul:

• I needed to leave my 9 to 5 stable career
• I needed to acknowledge my own intuitive, tarot, and astrological gifts
• I needed to start reading for others

When I sent out the announcement to my community at large, that I was now ready to read for others, my knees were knocking. I knew there was no real turning back: I was out of the broom closet. I had to walk through and with my fear of rejection, of ostracism, and of exile – all Aquarian themes – and the decision had a snowball effect.

In actuality, that was my last day job. I began piecing together a makeshift alt.career in which I was a freelance writer and editor (travel, astrology, new thought, etc.), indie author, and astrologer and tarot professional from the road – I spent the next five years living out of a rucksack, based in India, and working from whatever Internet café I could stumble upon – and began giving readings remotely, as well as to travelers from all over the world, paying anywhere from 100 Rupees to 100 dollars. 

Business Card, 2006

 

San Francisco, 2006

What Mainstream?

This is what it means to take a Leap of Faith. To listen to your individuality, your psyche, your body (remember the Kundalini activations?). To trust. Now, of course, I had done a boatload of personal work – psychological, recovery, metaphysical, financial – to prepare for this mid-thirties leap. But surrendering “fitting in,” having a real job, having a stable platform, and becoming a real entrepreneur is, in a way, a form of ART.

I have lived as a working artist (intuitive and spiritual arts) for the past 15 years. I’m way out of the closet now – y’all know who I am and what I’m up to. I’ve been this way my whole life, actually – it’s a bit like being queer… you simply know. Yet to offer myself up publicly this way, and more and more and more – is to consistently risk being misunderstood, and to face that ongoing Aquarius strange situation of possible ostracism from the community.

Aquarius is the antithesis of mainstream. This is the job of the Water Bearer: to bring our attention to that which is “out there,” not just for perverse, selfish purposes, no. Rather, for the collective, for the good of the whole. Aquarius is the sign of humanity. Ironic, since most Aquarius- oriented individuals (or those with a strong Uranus influence) feel like they are from another planet. Perhaps many are Star Children –from Sirius or the Pleiades or another dimension – maybe they are from Atlantis or Lemuria of yore. They must to be, in order to deliver such different frequencies to us. It is the sacrifice of Aquarius to feel odd, to try to have a human experience. The only solution is to, as I said, continue to embrace and appreciate this unique role they have come in with.

At this time of the Full Moon of the Aquarian, see if you can be a little more forgiving with that oddball part of yourself. If you can be a little more faith-full when it comes to “doing your own thing,” of not fitting in, of taking a leap of faith. See if you can consider some of the quirky things you know in your heart, your body, your being to be real. See that you actually are onto something. See if you can release the need for approval or the need for being understood by others (boy that one is a real trap!).

This latter one is vital if you want to be free. Stop trying to make yourself understood by others. Simply acknowledge your own sense of things, validate your own heart. That is more than enough: it is healing, and one secret to ease and grace, and – some would say, in its highest definition – it is SUCCESS.

Trust the beat of your own heart!

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information. 

 

New Moon in Cancer: The Self-Care of Sovereignty

 

Knowing Who You Are is Freedom.

Tomorrow, we welcome the New Moon in the cardinal water sign of Cancer, the Crab. Those who know Cancer folks or Crab energy know very well the paradox of this most sensitive sign. No other sign exhibits such tremendous sensitivity in the underbelly, yet has such a tough outer shell.

Cancer energy is STRONG. STRONG AND SENSITIVE. In its highest vibration, Cancer represents some of the best of sovereignty – individual freedom and governance – because it is in touch with what it NEEDS for proper self-care. It knows what it needs so very well because the tiniest straying from equilibrium is felt intensely to the point of physical, emotional, spiritual pain. Therefore, Cancer teaches us to listen – on all levels – to that which is true and good and right for us. When we do that, we are rock solid.

We’ve been hearing a lot about sovereignty in the last few years. It’s been used in many contexts. Standing up for oneself is the main theme. It means knowing what is TRUE and GOOD and RIGHT FOR YOURSELF and trusting that knowing, and acting upon it. It also means only doing that which you really WANT to do.

I talk a lot about this in my writings. Why? Because the external cultural pressure of conforming, of having certain beliefs, of censoring one’s voice, of putting certain things into one’s body or mind, of consuming a set of constructs about the way we are supposed to live, is becoming more and more insidious.

If I am honest with myself, I’ve seen this building for the past 10-15 years. The very groups who formerly professed a “live and let live,” or “let your freak flag fly” are adhering more to a Goliath-scope pressure to live within a very narrow realm of behaviors and ideals. Cancel culture and self-censoring is on the rise. Whatever happened to freedom?

The Self-Care of Napping: Learn from Fur Friends

I came out of the womb as a freedom-loving Aquarius. I was destined to be individuated my whole life. As a Water Bearer, I archetypally carry the torch for all people and peoples who need the freedom to be true to themselves. NOT AN EASY TASK when you get down to your own nitty gritty, ferreting out deeper layers of attachment.

The first step is to SEE THINGS ACCURATELY. It is vital to see cultural conditioning for what it is. Sure, you might initially resonate with what the mass consciousness is projecting on the screen; yet looking closely and listening, you’ll likely have your own intuition about what is good and true and right for you, and that may likely be counter to what you are TOLD to believe, to do. Check your heart, your body, your emotions, your gut. Even your "Spidey-sense."

Sovereign Tarot Friends Say Hello (Morgan-Greer)

Due to forces outside of our immediate vision, but actually right in front of our literal faces (screens), we are being projected upon with a gargantuan force that tells the people, THIS IS WHAT IS YOU NEED. THIS is who you are if you are a conscientious person, a good citizen, a person that deserves to live in this society, nation, world. And if you feel otherwise in your heart, soul, body, gut, intuition, you may be pressured to conform to the point of cancellation, ostracism, exile.

Why the attempted bullying? Yes, the messages may come with the smile of “it’s for your own good,” but is there is a sickly feeling underneath it? Many sniff something fishy, sense that there is a power-hungry element afoot. The need to CONTROL is ferocious right now. And that desire to control usually arises from a great deal of FEAR, or INSECURITY, or GREED, to name just some of the vicious, sneaky, diabolical forces in the collective shadow.

How does one start to plug into self-sovereignty, as a bridge to ultimate freedom? One tool is beginning to NOTICE when you are going against that which is true and good and right for you. You won’t be able to bear it much longer. Think of the sensitivity of Cancer, noticing every single irritating grain of sand against the soft underbelly. Or the princess and the pea. You’ll notice every inkling of movement that goes against the truth of what you need. The road gets narrower.

Here’s a great mantra:

“I promise to do only that which is good and true and right for me.”

You’ll get it down, no worries.

Your spirit will not let you stray.

Mantra. End of Story.

I am free.

The truth of who I am is free.

No matter what happens to this body, I am free.

The truth of who I am is free.

No matter what pollutants are fed, I am free.

The truth of who I am is free.

Wild and free.

The Self-Care of Swimming in the River You Grew Up In

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Have you read Truth Seeker yet? If you prefer supporting your local brick and mortar bookstore, you can order the book straight from your local bookseller. Otherwise, it’s available on Amazon Prime in paperback and Kindle here. I continue to be touched by the reviews (keep 'em coming, please), like this one from Jungian psychologist, author, and dream guide, Dr. Marilyn Steele, author of The Wild Feminine: Stories to Empower and Embolden (2012):

5.0 out of 5 stars A very human and very holy adventure tale by a brave explorer of the Divine Feminine

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2021

I loved the humor and humility, the honesty with which Erin Reese tells of her travel adventures, her spiritual awakenings, her romantic dreams and experiences. There are fascinating people and magical encounters. There is soaring transcendent learning but also the down to earth, sensual sights and sounds of Mother India. I have not actually been to India, but the lovingly detailed descriptions and stories bring the scents, scenery and energies to life. So impressed with the amount of courage and faith the author brings to living a fully embodied, wild and sacred, Feminine life.

 Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.  

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