As important as astrological events were to the ancients, and as popular as they are now whether in astronomy or astrology, it is not as if the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn hasn’t appeared at other times significant and insignificant.  The last conjunction was in 2000, but mostly unobservable; and, the last conjunction observed giving this similar phenomenon of “double-star” or “double-planet” appearance was in the 13th century.  However, I find it peculiarly brilliant that this close-to conjunction is currently observable around the world, making it’s closest contact on the nigh of the Winter Solstice in the sign o Aquarius.  After the year we have experienced in 2020, it’s a blessing to have something of a navigable future dawn hopefully for 2021.
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The Star Card in the Tarot’s Major Arcana is a card of hope and direction.  The ancients would navigate their ships and land marches by the stars, patterns in the night sky, and – particularly – the North Star.  This is what is typically represented by Key XVII – the North Star – a guiding light out of the Dark Night of the Soul by which we can determine our course and direction and persevere hopefully toward our new beginning, a new Dawn.  

Incidentally, the two planets forming this conjunctive phenomenon – Saturn & Jupiter – enter Aquarius during the days that the Moon will be in Aquarius this month.  The Moon is the illumination of our internal nature, our intuitive and spiritual nature, our nurturing & feeling nature.  The Moon travels each sign for about 3 days every month, and in Aquarius is inspired, thoughtful, and objective.  Depending on other planets as well, there can be a great deal of progress on all fronts, including relationships, health & healing, and work projects.  There can also be great moves in social & humanitarian efforts, volunteer & community projects, and things that generally speak to “the good of the whole”.  However, with other planets in play, the Moon in Aquarius can be stubborn, pensive, aloof, distant, or scattered (thank you, Uranus).  The Moon in Aquarius is a general good time for cutting through internal emotional baggage & limiting beliefs, as well as being solutions and action oriented.  If we can get a handle o some inner peace & cultivate healthy boundaries gently, we can have great flow of creative & inspired energies – and it’s a good time to unplug, unwind, and spend some quality time in quality conversation.  Balancing that quiet energy with the solutions & action-based energies is the best inspiration for the days when the Moon wanders through Aquarius.

With Saturn, planet of orderliness & Natural Law, moving into Aquarius during these days, there will be plenty of good energy to be certain the structure laid for the year ahead is in harmony with who you are and what you believe your true purpose & happiness to be.  It’s an excellent time to break the cords of the past that have been holding you back – the limiting and false beliefs that keep you from expressing your authentic self – and banishing the fears & self-sabotaging habits that keep you enslaved to an image that’s not you.  Thus, it’s a great time to commit yourself to self-actualization and expressing your authentic truth, balanced by respect for the whole of humanity.

With Jupiter, planet of growth & expansion, whatever you set your sights on will expand within you.  If you focus on the fears & limitations, they will grow.  When you focus on the joy of being yourself, appreciation for who you know and what you have, and a feeling of freedom from the ideas about yourself & the world which gave rise to inner conflict & self-sabotage, you will expand & grow in joy, appreciation, and inner freedom.

A few days later, on the Winter Solstice in the western zodiac sign of Capricorn, the great conjunction of Saturn & Jupiter in Aquarius will be at its closest & brightest – thus, heralding a new beginning full of hope & direction, authenticity & self-actualization.  This month, do the inner work of releasing old patterns, letting go of past hurts & challenges & lessons, disentangling yourself from limiting beliefs, and embracing the true value of who you are.  Re-evaluate 2020, and every year before, holding on to the wisdom you’ve gleaned.  Dedicate yourself to 2021 as a year to create your true happiness from a light heart & mind. 

May joy, harmony, & great blessings be yours this holiday season of inner warmth, light, and hope!  

​Possibly the most talked-about of the Psychic Sciences and psychic gifts is clairvoyance – the ability to receive messages from Spirit and information from the Universal-etheric via visions.  In fact, we have many terms to describe this gift or one who has it, including “second sight”, “seer”, “crystal gazer”, “diviner”, and “clairvoyant”.  A clairvoyant is one who has “clear vision” or “clear sight” when receiving messages, channeling Spirit, divining potentials, or downloading information from the ethereal.  

What does this have to do with “scrying”?  To Scry is to utilize the faculty of gazing and un-focusing the eyes in order to see a clairvoyant vision.  It’s a divination practice that has been used for thousands of years because… truthfully, how many of us have at any point in life caught ourselves staring out at the rain or sun, into a puddle, into our cup as we stirred, into the campfire?  Although our daydreaming may have gotten us in trouble a couple times, it may not have given us a “clear sighted vision”.  Then again, maybe it did – whether or not you recognized it as such.  How many times did you catch yourself in this staring-off state to jolt back to what you were doing and find that you got the inspired answer or idea or solution you’d been looking for – either externally noticing something in your surroundings that clicked the “ah-ha” or internally conjuring the idea?  This is a kind of natural, creative state of inspired clairvoyance.  Like reading & counting, but not being an author or mathematician.  This is also the same kind of basic trance-like state in which a clairvoyant will receive a vision or visual message. 
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By calming the mind, relaxing the eyes (or in some cases, closing the eyes) and drifting into a trance-like state of altered consciousness, a clairvoyant will be an open channel to receive – though we should note two things, altered consciousness does not mean incoherent, and an open channel is not an unregulated or unprotected channel, or necessarily a clear channel.  I make these distinctions because this is where natural ability and years of experience meet professionalism or social ethics.  Everyone has the natural ability for any of the faculties described by the Psychic Sciences.  Many people have had experiences with their own intuitive & psychic abilities – facets of consciousness we tend not to pay much attention to; but, not everyone has trained themselves or trained with a group of like-minds to learn to express their gifts accurately, specifically, safely, and conscientiously. 

However, back to my point, the principles of clairvoyance – which we have covered – suggest that the essence of scrying is a method of practicing, developing, or inducing clairvoyance.  Often called crystal-gazing and bringing to mind images of a Gypsy woman in front of a crystal ball, scrying is a method of un-focusing & relaxing the eyes, as previously described, to receive a vision but utilizing the energies of crystals or reflective surfaces which can effect an external vision – not solely in the Mind’s Eye of the Seer.  A slightly hypnotic trance can allow another party to also see a vision, like a guided meditation, similar to that being described by the Scryer.  Eventually on the path of Psychic-Intuitive development, you will strengthen the awareness of the connection between yourself and Universal-etheric/Divine/Spirit to the point of not needing a tool or a focal point for yourself but rather as practice or as a way of letting someone you may be "divining" for, or reading for, a way of relaxing & participating. 

​The Wheel turns and causes that which is connected to move.  There are many philosophies the world over that describe the experience of ups-and-downs and cyclical movements.  We use it to describe seasons and time, growth and experiences, our place and direction in this vast universe.

​Totem Animals are Spirit Helpers to us.  Once the connection is recognized, they will travel with you throughout life.  I say it this way because the connection is already there but, depending on our perspective, we may not recognize that we have a connection to Nature, Animals, or Spirit.  

A Power Animal may be a very close guide along our journey.  We recognize a kinship, deep respect, or inspiring awe with a particular animal or kinds of animals.  But, as we grow and change and our lives change, we may not always feel the same strong connection or affinity.  Therefore, a Power Animal may be seen as a guide who could stay-or-go as we journey in life, unlike Totem Animals which are Spirit Helpers so deeply connected to us that they often remain in that role throughout our journey.

The I-Ching (Book of Changes) is an ancient text used for guidance and self-development. This powerful book describes the interactive and transformative powers of eight elements often found in the Chinese Ba Gua. The text contains 64 passages of philosophical and practical wisdom.
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