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Virgin of Guadalupe
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Tomorrow, September 17, we have a New Moon in the mutable
earth sign of Virgo, representing purity. Nothing holds the Virgin – she is a
woman unto Herself. As evolutionary astrologer Steven Forrest reminds us, Virgo is truly free,
unbound by any earthly drama. And yet, She still lives on earth as the
development of self and life continues to unfold. In the meantime, she purifies,
serves and helps where she can.Ashes to Ashes
A week ago, my Beloved and I took a much needed holiday up
to Ashland, Oregon, where I’d lived for five years in my 20’s – a town of great
healing, art, and coming of age for me personally and professionally.
We so looked forward to our five days at a retreat hotel, replete
with in-room mineral bathtub, and a pool. I’d needed a break from the fire stew-pit
of the High Sierras we’ve been living in for the past six weeks, ever since the
first of the big fires lapped up to the edge of our little town, keeping us on
evacuation alert.
So, yes, we looked forward to a poolside vacation in Ashland,
where the air quality forecast was clear sailing. But the Goddess had other ideas.
At about 11am our first morning we were enjoying a hot tub
soak in our room. I was chewing my way through Frank Herbert’s Dune, diving
into spice, spaceworms and sci-fi when we heard people shouting and yelling in
Spanish. I hopped out of the bath, looked out the front door to see the
staff running, and saw a gigantic smoke plume tsunami heading our way, rising
up and unfurling toward us at an alarming speed. “Grab your stuff, we have to
get out NOW.” Keith leaped out of the tub, and with clothes (barely) on our
backs, and keys, phone, purse – we ran to the car.
I’d thought for a split second – “Grab my Tarot cards? My
night guard [for my teeth]?” Funny, the things you value when you can bring
nothing. I then thought, “What are you doing Erin? Drop everything and get out
NOW,” and left everything. In the parking lot, I marveled that a few of the
other guests were dawdling – barely getting on the go.
Keith and I headed north on a frontage highway as sirens blared
and cars began being diverted. Within a minute, the Interstate and that road
itself were blocked and closed, meaning we would not have been able to move for
the next 24 to 48 hours if we hadn’t acted so fast.
Having nowhere to go and our heads barely on straight, we
headed north. Rattled, we remembered mention of a winery that a young woman
mentioned to us the night before while dining outside eating Vietnamese pho. We needed a
plan, any plan, so off to the vineyards we drove. There, a celestial angelic server
tended to us and gave us a stiff pour of Albariño while we
collected our thoughts. “Let's get to the coast, we’ll be safer there at least.”
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At the vineyards, pondering our next move
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This was the day of the apocalyptic orange skies in the Bay
Area – everything black as tar along the north coast as well. Safe, and
simultaneously depressed and happy to stick our feet in the smoky ocean – for
two days we ate bad diner food and huddled together in our gray, not-holiday motel
digs until we could assess the damage back in Ashland.
Our hotel manager was great – staying in touch as the fires
lapped against the road burning near the Inn and flattening 600-plus homes
between Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford. No power or water, yet miraculously,
our lodging was spared.
After two days, we decided to try to get back to retrieve
our items and started driving north back to Oregon. We came to a roadblock – the very
highway we'd come over on was now engulfed by yet another fire, so we turned around.
A 2.5 hour trip turned into a 6.5 hour route back south, through Humboldt County, then east and
up I-5 through Mount Shasta – a typically beautiful drive that has never been
drearier. Poor majestic Mount Shasta, hidden behind a smokescreen, nowhere to
be seen off the ashen highway.
Staying one night at an Ashland sister property while we fetched our
things, it was beyond heartbreaking to hear of homes and families now in shelters,
with many Latinx communities and small town haunts I loved burned to the
ground. We were let through the police line to fetch our luggage and drove the
weary hours home to California. Back in our mountains, we were grateful to arrive to safety,
albeit with a local Air Quality Index of 485.
Just. Wow.
We spent the next couple of days – indoors of course –
decompressing and in contemplation. What are we being shown, we asked the
Divine. Clarity always arising… Remember…
1. You will always know exactly what to do in the
moment.
a.
we knew when to flee
b.
we knew where to drive
c.
we knew where to go next
2. My work as a spiritual teacher, counselor, and
intuitive is exactly what I am supposed to be focused on. I am here for you, clients, students, readers – individually and as a group. This is the best way
for me to use my life force and it feels great. No stress, being of service in
the Virgo-pure way, sitting in the flames with you.
3. See number one above, repeat.
Ashes to Ashes. Think of the sadhus in India –
the
naga babas –
purified and
covered in ash, with
nothing. These holy men and women are raw, naked, and are closest to the earth,
as the earth.
Fire purifies. Ash purifies. Symbolically, let it cleanse
your heart. Let it point you to the Truth.
I do not wish these fires on anyone. I do not wish for other
creatures to die, to lose their homes, to feel fear and pain. At the same time,
I am completely aware that this is part of the Great Unfolding, and it is all
happening as exactly as it is meant to.
You will be guided to make the changes, make the efforts to
alter your reality and our collective reality in the way that that naturally
arises for you – knowing that it is perfect exactly as it is. And again, you will always know exactly
what to do, in the moment. There is only the Here and Now. Presence.
In this time of the new moon, remember that Virgo is purity.
She is held by Nothing. She wants for Nothing. And thus She has, and is,
Everything.
Unto yourself, as the Self. You will always be okay no
matter what.
Do you doubt?
Go deeper, go further.
Stay there. And purify.
Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary
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.
