ASTROLOGY: SATURN IN VIRGO

SATURN IN VIRGO
by Eileen Nauman


Copyright 2007 Eileen Nauman
All Rights Reserved




Website: http://www.medicinegarden.com

Email: docbones@gotsky.com

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On September 3, 2007, Saturn leaves Leo and moves into Virgo. How fitting that when it does, the Sun is also in Virgo. There’s some synchronicity there.

Leo’s are all going to be breathing a collective sigh of relief. Why? Because for nearly three years, Saturn has been bearing down on them and keeping their noses to the proverbial grindstone. Any responsibilities, lessons, hard work were enforced by no nonsense Saturn. And Leo's are tired. Maybe exhausted, by their arduous journey that had no let up.

Now, it is Virgo’s turn to experience the gamut of Saturn in all its diverse facets. What may occur to one Virgo will not another. The best way to know how Saturn is going to be bringing up things for you to look at and work on or learn from, is to see which house of your natal chart it is in. A professional astrologer can tell you about that and I’ll put up a list of wonderful people who can do that for you at the end of this article.

Saturn has facets, so let’s look at him. From a mythological standpoint, he is Grandfather Time, the Grim Reaper, Chronos, the Time Keeper, among others. It is an earth planet rooted deeply in common sense, practicality and working hard and consistently.

And because Virgo is an earth sign, too, Saturn is very happy in this sign, unlike in Leo, which is a fire. Fire and earth do not get a long which is why Leo’s have had their nose rubbed in it for 2.5 to 3 years by Saturn. The good news is that earthy Saturn and earthy Virgo will get along like twins. Instead of crashing into Leo, as it did, Saturn should glide quietly and firmly into Virgo. This is a huge change but the elements have much to do with everything.

So, what can Virgo's expect from Saturn? Well, let’s look at the areas ruled by Saturn:



1. Expect a physical manifestation of some THING in your life. Saturn is about making dreams come true--through hard work and discipline over time. Whatever Virgo starts now, expect it to come to fruition in 2.5 to 3 years from now. The excellent part of Saturn is this: if you do your duty, fulfill your responsibilities, Saturn will REWARD you at the end of that time. However, if you slack off, you’re lazy or your inconsistent, Saturn can kick your butt instead. And as always, the CHOICE is up to you.

2. Virgo’s who have ambitions in their goals may well get advancement. If you do--it will be because you applied elbow grease, you pulled your loads without bitching and complaining about it, and you were consistent. Those who do can expect a raise, a change in status in your job and you’ll get the good things that come with the accolades that you earned.


3. Virgo’s who have arthritis/osteoporosis may see a worsening of their condition over the next 2-3 years. Or, perhaps just the opposite: some drug or alternative medicine may give you the relief you’ve been seeking but haven’t found until now.


4. Virgo’s are going to have confrontations with authority. It could be legal such as a lawsuit, going before a judge/jury, dealing with governmental agencies such as the IRS, or country officials perhaps on a property tax issue. Or, maybe a speeding ticket because the police are an authority, also. If you begin to deal with authority, remember it’s going to be a long term proposition, so pace yourself. Also, get a good attorney if that is what is needed.


5. Virgo's may need more bioflavanoids during this period. These are often found in the white skin of an orange, lemon or grapefruit. Saturn rules Vitamin C, bioflavanoids, which is an offshoot, chemically, of C. Because Saturn may put you under a lot of stress, Vitamin C and bioflavanoids ‘feed’ your adrenal glands and stop possible adrenal exhaustion. Think about adding these to your daily regime if you are under a lot of stress. Others to consider are the bioflavinoids and Vitamin C because they too, are ruled by Saturn. You may have more need of these than normal during this transit.


6. When it comes to business Saturn is going to put you through new cycles to become better at what you do. This can mean a long term project that involves a lot of time, elbow grease, responsibility, organization, managerial skills and constant focus. This won’t be easy but if you will do the walking and talking, Saturn will reward you in the end--so hang in there and do this project or job right.


7. Virgo's may need more Calcium during this 2.5 year period. And with Mercury being your ruler, your nerves are susceptible to stress a lot sooner than most other zodiac signs. I’d suggest talking with your physician or alternative medicine practitioner about a supplement that would incorporate Calcium with other surrounding minerals or Vitamin D in order to get the right ‘concert’ to feed your nerves properly.


8. Saturn is about caution and thankfully, Virgo's are practical and common sensed, so they aren’t going to throw caution to the wind and do something stupid. Keep your head about you,Virgo,and practice your cautious ways because they will serve you even more strongly during this period in your life.


9. Saturn is always about cold, and most Virgo's don’t do well in hot temperature or very cold ones. You may find yourself more susceptible to cold weather or winds than usual. The easy way around this is to dress wisely and that’s something Virgo's do well, anyway!


10. Virgo, it’s time to consolidate some areas of your life. This can mean that you are traveling too much and so you cut back to doing less of it, for example. Or, you’re stretched too thin in too many places and you must choose between them. Do it. Do the necessary cutting and getting rid of peripheral ‘stuff’ in your life and hone it down to what really matters and counts.


11. Saturn is always about control but doesn’t mean you’re going to turn into a megalomanic. It’s about control of your emotions, control over your mouth and what comes flying out of it (and shouldn’t have) and controlling our childish impulses and replacing it instead, with more mature actions or reactions. This is a tough area and its one Saturn will hone us too whether we like it or not. Think before you speak. Think about your actions you want to take before you do it. You won’t be sorry. Always take the higher road when someone confronts you or your have to deal with a bully. No one said this would be easy and its not--but if you can rise to the occasion and choose your words and actions with careful forethought, you’ll come out as the winner.

12. You’re going to find delay in some areas of your life whether you want them or not. Saturn is always about practicing patience and if you’re in a hurry to meet a deadline, that may not happen as much as you might like. Just remember,Saturn is honing you to be the best person you can be, inside and out, and this takes time. And if some things in your life are delayed there’s a good reason. Many times, Saturn protects us against ourselves and holds off you getting something too soon because honestly, you aren’t ready for it. Trust Saturn to hold up something because when the time is right, he will give it to you.

13. Virgo’s are good at discipline so Saturn’s demand for this is not going to be a problem for you at all. In fact, you’ll become even MORE disciplined than usual.


14. Saturn rules the father in our life, but it can also rule over older people--namely your parents--or grandparents. There may be caregiving duties with older or elderly people during this period. And if you become a caregiver under Saturn, just know that this training is going to give you a lot of compassion by the time this two year journey is done.


15. Saturn can bring out our worst fears. Whatever boogie man that we’re hiding deep in us, rest assured that Saturn will bring out a physical manifestation so we can wrestle with our fear(s). Saturn wants us to grow, mature and flourish as a full human being. He realizes our fears immobilize us, stunt our growth and stop us from being all that we can be. The way Saturn resolves this issue is for you to face your worst fears, work your way through them and come out the other end of the gauntlet a stronger, freerer person than before.


16. Health wise, watch your ligaments and tendons. You can twist a foot or a limb and have to go to a chiropractor or a physical therapist to help undo the damage. Wearing good shoes that don’t ‘roll’ (such as mules or high heels) will help you avoid ligament problems.


17. Virgo's are going to feel limited or perhaps imprisoned or ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’ and no place to go to escape the situation. Saturn often makes us responsible in some way that we cannot escape or run even if we wanted too. What he is asking is an attitude change and believe me, in two years, you will come around.


19. There can be losses during a Saturn cycle. The loss of a parent or good friends or relatives are examples. But the loss can mean the loss of a spouse, too, unfortunately. If we lose those we love, it was their time to move on. We can continue to love them because they’re still alive in spirit.


20. Your loyalty may be challenged Virgo. Don’t be blindly loyal--that will get you in trouble. However, standing up for a friend or loved one and doing the right thing is how Saturn teaches us loyalty.


21. During this Saturn transit, one can begin to feel pretty old. Why? Because the pressures, stresses and demands on us to be responsible and mature may become superheated. And there will be days when you don’t feel like you can make it--but you can. The end result is that sometimes you’re going to feel pretty old and done in. But this won’t last. Saturn will bear down on you, and then relieve the pressure for you to catch your breath, and then you’ll go down again to bear the loads you’ve chosen to carry. In the long run, Saturn helps us to grow and get stronger in spirit but while you’re in the middle of it, you’ll feel like you aged years--but you really haven’t!


22. Patience is something you will learn in spades during Saturn’s transit. And most Virgo’s can be pretty patient, any way. However, where ever you lack patience you will learn to be.


23. The bones of the body are always up for review under Saturn’s cycle. This can mean your teeth and having dental work, for example. Or you might fracture a bone. And bones break under this cycle, unfortunately.

HELP TO MAKE THIS ECLIPSE TRANSFORMATION PAINLESS--WELL, ALMOST PAINLESS....


I don’t believe we have to SUFFER (at all) through a retrograde or direct period. The people below are, in my opinion, the best in their particular business and are skillful catalysts to help people to help themselves. Utilize the eclipse in the BEST and most healthy of ways....check out this group and choose which tools resonate most strongly with you and contact them. You won’t be sorry you did! And, with this November 19, 2007 coming up, this is an OPPORTUNITY to off load our wounds, get in touch with what is strong or weak within us--and fix it. So, this is a fix-it-up time. Take advantage of this enlightening period of time!


ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELORS:

You can engaged the services of the medicinegarden.com’s professional astrologer and find out. Our own Rosemarie Brown is a natal counselor. Just contact her at: starrose@sedona.net. Her website is: http://www.rosemariebrown.com

If you are wanting to move and aren’t sure where or you have a place in mind, but aren’t sure if it’s “right” for you, they have locale information available. If health is your consideration, both are trained medical astrologers. Or, Gail Carswell at rockdoc@mindspring.com. Or, Michael Foltz at solardoc@mindspring.com.

I'm sure one of these three professionals will be able to shed considerable light in what is going on in your life and the many choices you have available to you to institute and use. Better yet, visit their website: http://www.owlswebnest.com, for more information on all the services they provide.

DE-STRESS YOURSELF

NEED A “Coach”, some serious therapy that gets to the “heart” of your angst or what you’re wrestling with? We recommend Rosemarie Brown. Please contact her at: http://www.rosemariebrown.com or by email at: Rosemarie Brown

VOICE ANALYSIS--THE MISSING NOTE

I’ve had my voice analyzed by Ani Williams and I can tell you from personal experience that we all have a “missing note” in our life. So what? Well, consider this. Without this missing note back in our life, we aren’t working off of 8 cylinders. We’re working on 6--or less! Please go to Ani’s website for more information. This is a life-changing “tool” that you should include in your personal Pluto transformation kit. http:// www.aniwilliams.com or contact her via email at: songaia@earthlink.net

SPIRITUAL UPKEEP RENOVATION: NEED A SHAMAN?

Gail Carswell, Michael Foltz, Grace Verte (GraceVerte@Netsedona.com), Karen David (KDMystic@aol.com) and Rosemarie Brown are all trained shamanic facilitators who can help you through your spiritual transformation. For more information on Soul Recovery and Extraction, go to: http://www.medicinegarden.com/SRE/SREchapter.html and then contact one of them for further help!

FOR CARE OF BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT: HOMEOPATHY

Our favorite classically trained homeopath is Yolande Grill of Cave Creek, Arizona. She does long-distance case taking by phone and I consider her one of the best we’ve got in the USA. So, don’t delay! She is also a shamanic facilitator, as well. Get a hold of Yolande at: y.grill@att.net

POSTCARD FROM SILVERTON, COLORADO 8.30.07

Hi Everyone

Our last full day at Silverton. We dined on a breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, fresh fruit and potatoes with rosemary. Yum. Then, we took off early in hopes of running into some deer or elk in the early morning hours. We decided to go back to the gold mine area because there's some long roads with little traffic and hopefully, the deer and elk will be at the creek getting their last drink before they bed down for the daylight hours.




We never found any deer or elk or not even a marmont this morning getting up early to try and get some photographs. On the way back to Silverton, the moon was setting. I took this shot near an abandoned mine and up above us is a miner's bucket that they used to ride, all rusted out.




I was thrilled to get this moonset. I shot it just outside the Wayman Hotel! And it was setting against the backdrop of the reddish colored mountain, which really made the shot. We rested up and went to the Mustache Saloon to eat (great food) for lunch, dropped in to say 'hi' to Gary and Linda, our weavers, bought some more stuff and Dave had a long talk with Gary about his marvelous looms. We then stayed at the hotel for a couple of hours. About three p.m. we took off down Route 550 heading toward Durango to see what trails we could find as offshoots to go and explore.





As we came off Route 550 about twenty miles from Silverton to Molas Lake, we saw it for the first time--talk about a dark blue sapphire brooch embedded in Mom Nature's finery...wow....







The beauty of Molas Lake can be seen here--except that I tipped the shot and it's not level. One of my habits I must break is to ensure my shot is level.





As soon as we parked at Molas Lake, two hen mallards came quacking up to us. They must have seen 'food' written all over us, haha. Dave went and got some Ritz crackers from the car and while I sat on a picnic bench, he threw the crackers closer and closer to where I sat so I could get a good photo of them.






One thing about the weather this moring...it was changing rapidly across the Rockies. And it was fun mirroring these changes in the glass like surface of Molas Lake.






Here is one of my 'tipped' landscape shot. I particularly liked the red sand because it isn't just the blues and greens of an area.







Another shot of Molas Lake. The one thing I don't like about SLR digital cameras is their white balance. If I get the exposure right for the lake, the clouds are usually 'whited out' like you see here. And if I underexpose the shot to get the clouds without the glaring white, then the rest of the lake/landscape is way too dark and you can't see the details. This is a real pet peeve of mine and I have a lot to learn about the 'white balance'







I found out after viewing all my lake scenes that I did not have the camera positioned correctly--everything was pretty much shot at an angle--a big no no --it's a habit I'm learning I have and I gotta be much mor aware of my positioning of the camera on my elbows/knees next time. Still, Molas Lake was a photographer's delight.






After Dave fed those lucky mallard ducky hens, he went over to a picnic table and sat down just to absorb the beauty of Molas Lake.





I spotted a few Knapweed. I know they are a nasty weed, but they are so pretty!






As we left Molas Lake there was a weed bed on the other side of the dirt road we were on. I liked the fall colors of it. Then, we left the lake and continued our exploration and went up to Molas Pass which is at over ten thousand feet. There was a very nice pull off and parking lot, so we decided to stop and snoop around.






As we parked and walked over to the railing and I looked down, I couldn't believe the robust white daiseys down on the slope beneath us. Dave spotted a path and we carefully made our way down it. On the way down, there were lots of healthy (not frosted) wildflowers--an unexpected haven of beauty!





Here are some lovely fleabane daiseys on the steep slope just below the pass parking area.





And here's some happy Sneezeweed just below the pass parking lot waving happily in the breeze.





On my way down the slope I found a number of 'puffball' mushrooms near a rotting log.





As I turned around from photographing some marvelous wildflowers on the steep slope beneath the Molas Pass parking lot, I saw Dave sitting on his hill. This reminded me of "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, only this one would be titled: "Old Man on the Mountain," haha.







As we traversed toward the hill that Dave went too, I spotted some lavender Fringed Gentian! That was a real coup to find it. And, there was the dark blue Gentian around as well.






I was delighted with the abundance of late summer wildflowers just below the pass parking lot.





As we walked off the hill toward the lily pad pond, I spotted some yellow paintbrush.





As Dave and I walked below the summit parking lot to get to a tiny lily pad pond he'd spotted, I took this shot of Molas Lake far below the pass.






There were no flowers at the tiny pond, but I found these seed pods nearby and thought they were wonderful natural designs few people would ever get to see.





I took this yellow grass as a 'frame' for the little lilypad pond as an 'arty' shot. I like the vertical texture of the grass with the round or oblong lilypads nearby.






As we started past the little lily pad pond, I spotted these bright red plants. I'm not sure what they are, but maybe from the Stonecrop family.





Looking northwest from Molas Pass, this is what you see. What a grand landscape!





As we climbed the hill back to the Molas Pass parking lot, I spotted these daiseys waving gaily in the breeze above me.





We bid farewell to Mola Pass at ten thousand feet. These bright yellow daiseys were near where we parked our Prius and were living against a cream colored piece of granite.





We decided to explore Route 110 that is north of Silverton. I spotted a whole bunch of bright yellow flowers in a meadow off the road. These are Butter 'n Eggs, members of the Snapdragon family.





In the meadow along Route 110 was a small stream. Here are the last of the summer flowers that soon, will be covered with snow in early September....there is white yarrow, fleabane daisy of lavender color and the bright, breezy Sneezeweed.




We had gone less than a mile on route 110 of our exploration of it and I saw a whole bunch of yellow flowers on it plus, as we walked the soft, rounded slopes, I found some Harebells. They are so delicate and shy.








We were about four miles down route 110 (which has an 'extreme' ski slope operation on it in mile 6) when Dave spotted a coyote running from the creek on his side of the road. I whipped my camera up but I had the lens cover on and by the time I got it off, he was running up the slope away from us. I shot some, but none are up close and personal.





Unfortunately, I only had my 70mm lens on my Nikon and not my 300mm, so this coyote isn't going to be up close and personal. Still, he hung around for awhile and let me snap his photo. At least we got SOME animal on route 110!







Our exploration of route 110 just outside Silverton continued. This was a lovely 'bowl' or caldera beneath the sumit of this Rocky Mountain apu plus a big thunder being behind it.

Tomorrow morning, we get "Dutch bunnie" breakfast here at the Wayman Hotel. These are thick pancakes, the owner tells me, with lots of whipcream. Dave will go to pig heaven and I'll eating sparingly. Once we're loaded up (pardon the pun....) we drive 50 miles to the south to Durango and stay there for the day at the Hampton Inn. We have a rear left tire that is low, so we're watching it. And if necessary, we'll find a tire place in Durango and get it checked. Always an adventure!

In Spirit...Eileen

POSTCARD FROM SILVERTON, COLORADO 8.29.07

Hi Everyone

This blog takes in our morning foray up route 22, which would take us to the goldmine about four miles into it. I'd never been in a goldmine and Dave, being a civil engineer, just loved rock anyway. We went to the goldmine, put down our money and we were scheduled for the 11 a.m. group. Deciding to explore the road past the goldmine, we found lots to look at.






I look for photography shots that incorporate interesting colors. Here you have the magenta Fireweed, the white foam of the stream and the emerald colors of the water itself.





No matter where you look, there is beauty and color. Here is some late summer Fireweed adding their magenta color to the clear, aquamarine and emerald colored stream.







I have no idea what this plant is called but the red berries were beautiful against the green leaves.






As we meandered down our road after paying to go into the goldmine at 11 a.m., we would stop every so often to check out the flowers near the road. This is a mountain paintbrush;one of the few that is left since it's so late in the season. First snow can come in early September!





As we continued off our unnamed road, we would stop every now and then and explore it. This was a lush high mountain meadow.






As we continued down our unnamed dirt road, this vista with a shaft of sunlight opened up to us. Wow.







Here is the sun about ten a.m. hitting the top granite peaks but not the lower one. This was to the west of the old mine we came upon in our journeys. We decided to stop and explore the area.






We found this old, destroyed mine at the end of our dirt road. Right next to it was a lovely small waterfall.






This is some very late bloom Angelica I found near the stream that sits near the broken down ole mine we found.







At the edge of the burned out timbers that were exposed on top of this mine was, I believe, some Gooseberry with a bit of fall color on its leaves.




I don't know what kind of plant this is. Maybe a twinberry because it has two black berries. We were done exploring our old mine down a lonely road because it was time to go back and take a trip into the goldmine! We hopped into our intrepid back road buggy, Pearl the Prius, and off we went!





While arriving back at the mine about fifteen minutes early, Dave decided to try his hand at gold panning in these water troughs full of sand. He actually got some silver. But not enough to do anything with.


After paying to go into the goldmine, I noticed all these hats and rain slickers. The miner told us we'd be wearing them shortly.





And here is Dave suiting up. They said there's a lot of drips in the mine and everyone has to wear a rain slicker. And by federal law, everyone has to wear a hard hat. It's only 47 degrees F in the mine, so we wear our coats beneath our slickers, too.




And here's Eileen in her official gold mine outfit looking very fashionable, don't you think?






Here is Dave waiting for the yellow train to come out of the mine shaft. He's all ready to go!







Here is the group that went into the goldmine before us. You can see they had on their rain slicker jackets and hard hats. The little yellow train there is the same one that we would ride on.





Here is one of the men who take us newbies into the mine. I loved his face. Doesn't he look like a hard rock miner?





After trundling into the mine, through the darkness, the water dripping from overhead, we stopped and got out of our little mine cars. We're at a fork with two tunnels. Ernie is explaining that this mine is made of granite.





Looking up at the ceiling, I notice some 'green stuff' and Ernie explained that there is zinc, copper and lead as well as gold in this mine, plus iron. And the green stuff was actually showed that copper was in the area.





Ernie takes us to another part of the mine and there's all kinds and types of mining equipment here. This is a pneumatic driller that relies on compressed air to move the long shaft into the Andesite granite walls.






And here is a one man elevator that would lift him out of the mine, or down into it.





Further down one shaft was a shaft that had been created above it. Ernie explained there were always two ways to escape a mine. And this shaft had a ladder that would take a miner up and out of the danger area. The pipes you see there are to carry air and water.





At another part of our walk into the mine, Ernie stopped and showed us a table that had many things a miner used to use. One was a candle. That was how they mined before carbide came into the picture. And then, lights with batteries. I just cannot imagine a man with a candle attached to his helmet, would work ten hours a day for two dollars a day, in a mine. It just defies my imagination.





Here is a wall in the tunnel that has had six foot holes drilled into it and three to five sticks of dynamite pushed into them. The center holes explode first and then each successive circle, outward. There's an awful lot to this--a real science--not to mention, steady hands and someone who knows what to do. The fuses were lengthened so that the men doing the sparking would have eight minutes to get out of the area of the blast. Good thing!


When we made another turn in the mine, this area was blocked off. Ernie said this particular tunnel went back four thousand feet! Nearly a mile!




The water that flows constantly in this mine is pure and clear. Amazing. As Ernie pointed out, not all mines have nice clean water like this.



Here is some of that copper stuff hanging off the ceilings of the mine. Very pretty.




This is an air compressed machine that once the exploded material has been poured out into the mine, it comes along with a shovel and picks it up, lifts it up and over the main part of the box and into an awaiting metal cart behind it.





And here is the metal box on wheels that carries the recently exploded rock out of the mine. Ernest was saying a mule could pull ten of these at a time out of the mine--when they used mules.






Ever think what those hard working miners did when they had to go to the bathroom? Ernie had the answer. This antique 'potty box' on wheels was used. It's a one holer. And of course, as he pointed out, no one would see them going to the bathroom because all the miner had to do was douse his candle or carbide or light and it was pitch black and no one could see a thing!





After getting rid of our hard hats and rain gear, Eileen went out back to pan for gold. She wasn't very good at it and found noting but sand in the bottom of her prospector's pan. After a lot of fun, we then decided to eat, since we didn't get out of the mine until Noon. Plus, the thunderstorms were starting up! Back to Silverton we went!



Around 4 p.m., after resting up at the Wyman Hotel, we decided to explore the lower road off Route 22. This is a good dirt road with some obsticals that Pearl almost couldn't transcend, but she did. It was sunny now, with the noon thunderstorms mostly past. Come with us as we explored this ten miles of dirt road that hugged the creek.




From about noontime onward, there's constant isolated thunderstorms in the area.






We came upon a beaver pond and this young willow was growing out in the quiet waters. I liked the reflection of the plant into the surface.






On the stream I found some Yellow Monkeyflower hanging over it. There's a lot of beaver living in the area and when they dam up the stream, the water runs over and creates lots of little rivulets like this one.





I found this lovely bright red mountain paintbrush living near some willows on the bank of the stream.





Here is some beautiful Stonecrop living near a white granite boulder very close to the stream.





Much to my great surprise and pleasure, I found some mountain bluebells near this stream.






Near a tiny stream amongst the gravel and rocks stood this yellow thistle. What was neat was a honeybee was getting the last of the pollen for the year before the first snows fell.





As we started to leave the stream area that had been so rich with a surprising amount of early Fall wildflowers, I came upon this. I thought it was a beautiful, natural design.





On route 22 there are some gorgeous vistas.





On our foray into route 22, a dirt road, we took off on an offshoot. We had no idea where we would end up but look at this: it's a caldera and doesn't the magnificence of being so close to these mighty mountains just take your breath away? It does mine. Just goes to show--one should take some unknown roads and find out where they end. This is like finding the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!






Here are some Gooseberries hanging tough on a scree slope.





And here is some flowers on a scree slope of gravel and rocks across the road from the stream. I don't know the name of them, but they were pretty and bright against the dark slope.






The streams that rush from high atop the Rockies are clear and pristine; like jewels in the sunlight.






And here is a great shot of the stream. Makes you want to come and live here but with 200 inches of snow a year, I don't think so!

POSTCARDS FROM OURAY and SILVERTON, COLORADO

Hi Everyone
This is a two day blog of sorts. First, we arrived at Gunnison, Colorado on 8.27 about eleven a.m. We pulled into the Rodeway Inn (and I highly recommend this place) and found out they had a spa (heavenly), an exercise room, free laundry (!) and a continental breakfast plus a free USA Today newspaper. This is a classy place and we had rain late in the afternoon. Near sunset, I went out and shot some photos. Then, the next morning, we took off for Montrose (after stopping at Farrell's for my mocha latte, kolachi, macaroons and croissants. This baker is just the best--all food is made by hand and nothing comes out of a can. We got lucky in finding Farrell's in Gunny--so if you drive through--stop at Farrell's--you won't be sorry

Then, off to Montrose where we gassed up our Prius hybrid, then through the lovely countryside into the high Rocky Mountains of Ouray. We stopped at Ouray and had lunch and just slummed around for awhile. I love the energy of Ouray. I wished I'd brought my swim suit because we would have stopped at the hot springs on end of the town. Then, up and over Red Mountain Pass to drop down into Silverton where the Wyman Hotel was waiting for us. Join us on our journey!



Here is the sunset in Gunnison, Colorado last night 8.26.07 from Rodeway Inn.


Using the tree silhouette, I just kept watching the sunset.




The colors of the sky changed and it was a marvelous sunset in Gunnison.





This sunset was constantly changing because of the light. I kept waiting and shooting this marvelous cottonwood tree as a silhouette to the sky colors.











Here is the town of Ouray, Colorado. It is named after a very respected Ute Chief from the 1800's. This is a lovely town with high, light energy. I loved being here. they also have a wondeful hot springs as well.


Here is a smashing picture on the side of a brick building in Ouray. Just stunning.






Ouray is full of interesting and creative things--such as this door.






I loved this porcelain plate with the deer family on it in a bas relief.





I loved this big, bold rooster ceramic. This was shot through the window and I got pretty lucky that it came out so well.






I love walking by store windows. You see the most beautiful things. And I'm such a sucker for flowers.







While walking around Ouray, we spotted some very nice porcelain in one store. I love iris and this vase was gorgeous.






We arrived in Ouray about noon and ate at a local establishment. Here was a glass chandelier in the middle of the area.






The water coming out of Box Canyon is swift and the area very narrow.







Here is Box Canyon water fall. There's actually a sheet of water above it that you can see and then it ducks behind these boulders and pours out below.







Here is a view of looking out of the narrow Box Canyon and onto the Ouray area.









Here is a lovely stream about four miles below the Red Mountain summit.





This is a most unusual water color--a urine yellow--and it comes from the mountains and is not mine or slag runoff. The minerals of these mountains have caused the color to turn.





As we left Ouray, we went over the Red Mountain pass, and here is that mountain full of wonderful warm colors. And from the 11,000 foot pass we dropped to 9,300 feet into Silverton, an old mining town.





We arrived in Silverton around 3:00 pm. The Wyman Hotel and Inn is a luxurious lodge nowadays. It was built in 1902. The new owners have really added some nice touches since we were last here, about 10 years ago. He got the "Hummingbird Room" and there's all kinds of lovely hummer wallpaper, framed photos and old, wonderful antiques.



And here is a shot of downtown Silverton, Colorado.






I love to walk old mining towns. As I ambled down the street, I ran into Weathtop Wovens. I couldn't believe my eyes: There was a man at a loom weaving! Now, I'm a sucker for handmade anything; especially wovens. My grandmother was an ace at crochet, knitting, embroidery and tatting. I didn't get the gene, but I did get the love of hand made materials. Gary and Linda Davis are the weavers and owners of this incredible place. I went in and learned a lot. Note that each of them are wearing creations that they make and sell at their store.


Gary made his Celtic loom. By hand. He had no instructions except to research through old, old ancient texts from the Middle Ages. Based upon that information, Gary began to create this one-of-a-kind loom. He used white oak, ash and maple to construct it. He and Linda took a lot of time, experimentation and using the loom to finally come up with the wonderful fabrics they create now. All of their goods, whether it be a sweater, a jacket, a marvelous long cloak with a hood, a vest or muffler, are from cotton. And Gary knows everyone one of the people that they buy their thread from. Like he said, it's ALL made in America. Something we should value. They have no website, but I can tell you, they have wonderful clothing whic is hand woven. If you are interested, give them a call at 970-387-5247 or write to them at PO Box 586, 1335 Greene St., Silverton, CO 81433. If you value home made fabric, woven by hand, this is the place to go. I found their prices incredibly reasonable for what they were selling.


Here Gary was showing me each thread. And he explained in very simple terms how they came up with the 'pattern' that they would incorporate on a given piece of cloth that they were weaving. The spindles are in the hundreds and all those threads are brought up to a point, carried over on a square of smoothly sanded and varnish wood and then brought together. They are then strung across the room to the Celtic Loom to begin to be woven. I bought a lot of their wonderful items. What I also loved was that they offered one-of-a-kind, hand made Celtic Brooches. These are made locally by a friend of Gary and Linda. They are sterling silver or bronze. And they fit beautifully with the fabrics that they create. They create men and women's clothing. You can find jackets, shawls, ruanas, pullover, and best of all--they are preshrunk, colorfast and washable. I loved the feeling of energy in these clothes. The fabric fairly glowed with the love that Gary and Linda infuse into the material as they weave it. They have no website. I told them they should get one because what they make, HOW they make it, is just incredible!

I bought myself a lovely green woven jacket with pockets. It was a splurge but gosh, when you meet the people who MADE this garment from threads up to a shape, how could I resist? Every time I wear this jacket, I will remember Gary and Linda. Further, now that I know what they make, I'm putting them in my Rolodex as a place to order gifts for friends and family in the future. The clothes they weave and create are one-of-a-kind. They'll wear forever. And, as Gary says, they will only get softer with every wash (warm or cold water).

It's nice to be back in Silverton. We loved it ten years ago and love it now. With 200 inches of snow a year, I couldn't live here, but we can always visit. This is a very special place with special people who live here. And we're fortunate to be sharing it with them right now.

In Spirit...Eileen

POSTCARDS FROM GOTHIC ROAD, CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO

Hi Everyone

this is part 2 of our afternoon journey down Gothic Road (doncha love the name of it?) to Gothic, Colorado. This is a dirt road used by a lot of people. And we took off around 2:00 pm in the afternoon to explore this road. And it yielded some pretty great surprises.



The last of the magenta colored Fireweed is blooming before the first frost hits the Crested Butte area (not long in coming, it was 41F last night).







I wish we could have been here earlier in the month when the Wild Roses, a lovely middle pink color with five petals would have been in bloom. These are the rose hips or seeds left behind. Birds love these. And they are great to gather, dry and then use in tea. Rose hips are very high in Vitamin C.







I'm not sure on the identification of this wildflower; could be Sneezeweed found along Gothic Road.







Talk about colorful contrast with texture of the trees. On this one mountain slope above Gothic Road, this group stood out.







There are incredible stands of Aspen on either side of Gothic Road. They make the perfect texture contrast for the greens and yellows of the late summer mountain area.







There is a wonderful oxbow shaped stream that meanders in semi and nearly full circles on the bottom of the valley above Gothic Road.






I love this photo of the aspens, their straight white-barked trunks creating a vertical texture to Gothic Road as it winds through the grove.








Another view of the mountains and meadows on Gothic Road.





The vistas seen from Gothic Road are staggering and gorgeous.




As we were driving along Gothic Road, less than fifty feet away, Dave spotted a White Tailed doe feeding. I got out of the car to take this close up and she didn't startle at all. She was very curious about me clicking away but finally gave in to the call of her tummy and continued to eat as if she had no cares or worries that I was standing so close by. Amazing.



We were so excited to see one deer that we were flabbergasted when, about a quarter of a mile later, here was another White Tailed deer! She too, seemed mildly curious about me as I clicked away, but never once raised her white tail in alarm.



We drove through the little town of Gothic and about two miles further up the hill from them was a small stream. I liked the yellowing of this plant in contrast to the dark green surrounding it. The plant reminds me of a lace doiley.



On the way back, and almost to the town of Gothic, I happen to look out left, through the window. Much to my surprise, I saw three White Tail deer! One was a pregnant mother with this year's spotted fawn at her side. The third one, who scampered away, was the mama deer's yearling daughter.



This is a White Tail fawn, this year's batch who were born. I've never photographed a fawn before and needless to say, I was excited!





And this morning, August 26th, we packed up and left the Grand Lodge up at Crested Butte and drove about twenty-eight miles to Gunnison. There, we were able to get in early to our Rodeway Inn reservation which was great. Dave and I didnt sleep well last night, so getting in early meant getting some snooze time. But before we did that, we had to get my copy edits copies for my editor and mail them off to her. We finally found the post office, and then we went and ate a lovely lunch at Farrell's. After that, we hit the laundry place and there was a car wash next to it, and we gave our Toyota Prius, "Pearl" a cleaning.



Here's Dave waiting in line at Farrell's Restaurant to order our lunch in Gunnison, CO. They had great home made bread, and I had a braut with sauerkraut, with melted swiss cheese and hot mustard on it. Plus, a wonderful mocha latte. Dave got a ham sandwich made on their freshly made bread. Everything about this place was about home made food made with love. Yum.



Gunnison (called "Gunny" by the locals) is not a large town. There is no McDonald's here, no Applebee's, no nothing except a Walmart store. Nevertheless, the downtown area was prettied up with flowers. I loved this pink gladiolus.








Here are Fleabane daiseys out in that field that had a stand of Cottonwoods in the center of it. Their bright lavender color stood out against the yellowing grass which surrounded the small but vibrant plant. The Rodeway Inn is sitting next door to a huge, empty field with a stand of Cottonwoods in it. I decided to go see what there was to photograph with my Nikon D70.




At the Rodeway Inn where we are staying, there's a field next to it and I heard Raven's playing and cawing. I took my Nikon 300mm VR with me and as I rounded the corner, here they were!






One of the young Ravens (I would guess he or she was this year's brood because they were molting their feathers) was thirsty and a recent rain had left a few puddles nearby and the Raven sauntered over to get a drink from it.



And then a second Raven came over to partake of the rain puddle out in the middle of the motel parking lot.


I followed one of the Ravens to the stand of Cottonwoods. Here, he is calling for his friends.



And so, it is a quiet day for us with no running around. We're very tired with no sleep from the night before -- thanks to high altitude symptoms -- and so we'll hole up in Gunny and get a good night's sleep. Then,tomorrow, we're off to Silverton!

In Spirit....Eileen

POSTCARDS FROM LAKE IRWIN, CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO

Hi Everyone
We took a trip up to Lake Irwin, which is about seven miles and around 9500 feet above Crested Butte. This is part 1 of 2 parts, because later in the afternoon we took a second trip up Gothic Road, which yielded all kinds of surprises. I'll put those in a blog tomorrow.

And, speaking of tomorrow, we leave Grand Lodge and go to Gunnison, to the Rodeway Inn for a day. I want to 'snoop and poop' around "Gunny" as it is called. And then, after that, we are going to Silverton for the next three days to the wonderful Wayman Hotel.

But, enjoy our Sunday morning!



At the Lake Irwin campsite, there was a small pond with lots of long yellow and green grass. I loved the textures here, as well as the mirror effect in the water from surrounding trees.


And here is another shot from that pond with the beautiful textured grass.






Going seven miles up a dirt road outside of the small town of Crested Butte is Lake Irwin. There are a number of trails and campsites along the small but pretty body of water. And the surrounding landscape is breathtaking.







Dave took this picture of me in front ofth e largest waterfall.





And here is another waterfall. Again, a slow shutter speed gave the water this look.






This is one of the shots I'm thinking of sending in for my NYIP assignment.






There was a group of little, tiny birds around us at one point on the trail. I happened to spot this one. I don't know what it is, but it's pretty. And look how it blends into the pine tree.





Here is Dave at the largest of the waterfalls. I purposely slowed the shutter speed to give the water this particular 'look.' I had to do this for my NYIP assignment. Personally, I like water to look like water, but this is one of the many affects you can manipulate with shutter speed.




Here is one of the meadow and mountain vistas we saw today. Isn't it beautiful?





Here is Dave on the trail that parallels the creek and our beautiful waterfalls







These white butterflies with black edging are the hardest of all to photograph. And today, I managed to get one!





There were a number of small and larger waterfalls. I used a slow shutter speed to get the 'water' effect that you see here.





Here is a little chipmunk on a rock near the waterfalls beneath Irwin Lake dam.




This is one of the shots I'm thinking of sending in as my work for slow shutter speed to the New York Institute of Photography. It was a lovely waterfall to sit at the bottom of and feel its magical energy.


And here is another possibility for my assignment. Do you see the differences between this one and the one above it?


And here is a third possibility. Do you like this one better than the other two above it?


And here is my fourth candidate for the assignment. Which of these four waterfall photos do you like best?


In Spirit...Eileen

POSTCARDS FROM CRESTED BUTTE, COLOGRADO

Hi Everyone

Well, 9,000 feet does not agree with us. We had high altitude sickness--headache, couldn't sleep, stuffed up noses. They say it takes three days for the body to adjust. I only got about 2 hours sleep last night, so I really didn't want to do any strenuous hiking--and all trails lead up. And at 9,000 feet, I'm not ready to tackle much uphill right now. We picked Slate Road, which is about a mile away from where we're staying because it was easy to stop and look at the creek or to shoot a few flowers. Come along with us and see what we saw!





We went out today to find an easy hike. Slate Road is about ten miles long. It's a good flat dirt road. Within a mile of turning off, we came upon a gate guardian: a huge red bull standing right by the fence and cow grate. We said 'hi' and slowly moved passed him.







Of all the photos I shot today along Slate Road, this is my favorite. I'm also going to use it as one of the photographs I send in on my lesson to the New York Institute of Photography. Why? Take a look: see the texture in the strands of grass on the right bank? The texture of the wind riffling the pond's surface? The texture of the trees in the background acting like verticals to all the horizontals of the lake/bank. And then, there's the colors. Look at the striations of color in this small lake--it was incredible, which is why I took the photo in the first place. You have cobalt blue, sapphire blue, emerald and then aquamarine. Plus, the yellow strands of grass and then the dark greens in the background to act as a 'frame' for this photo, I think, really completes the picture. We'll see what my teacher sez, haha.







This is my favortie Gentian photograph. I was using the 'rule of thirds' where they say don't put the main subject in the middle of the photo--rather, place it in the first third of the photo (imagine drawing 3 lines vertically across your photo and then 3 lines horiontally). I've purposely offset this Gentian to make it more eye appealing. If I put it in the middle, that would brand me as an amateur, haha.






The Mountain Gentian was all over the place and I just love their vibrant blue that leaps out at you. The wind was blowing pretty hard across this slope where they were and it would tough getting an unblurred shot until I switched to S--shutter speed and tried a 250--then, even if the flowers were waving in the wind, I could 'freeze' them at the faster shutterspeed.







I love shooting butterflies but they are so doggone fast and don't stay long in one place. This Painted Lady butterfly did and considering this is a hand held Nikon 300mm VR lens, it came out pretty good.







Using all my newfound knowledge from my New York Institute of Photography course, I shot this bridge over the creek. One of the maxim's they teach is to 'simplify' your photo. And since I wanted the bridge with the boulders in front of it, I cropped out a lot of 'clutter' around it so that the person's eye goes right to the bridge.







this would have been a decent photo if I hadn't tipped the camera and made this beautiful bucolic scene look slightly tilted. Still, it was a beautiful area that we stopped at off Slate Road.








And lastly, a group of Purple Asters that were half in the shade and half in light. With Adobe's Creative Suite 3 (CS3), I could change the exposure on my RAW photo. It's an amazing trick because 2/3rd of these flowers were in deep shade. If I'd shot a tiff or jpeg or any other type, toher than raw, I'd never get them to pop out like they do now.

In Spirit, Eileen....

POSTCARDS FROM SILVERTON, COLORADO

Hi Everyone



At the Strater Hotel there are a number of stained glass lamps like this one. Notice the wallpaper behind the lamp. Beautiful, isn't it?







Here is Dave getting ready to check out of the marvelous Strater Hotel. Look at all this wood!






This is a beautiful piece of stained glass over an entrance.






I just love the glass chandeliers.









And here is another shot of this incredible stained glass piece hanging from the ceiling--it is so large and amazing.






This buffet is the center of attention. It is HUGE! And beautiful. And so well kept.






This stained glass panel was in the restaurant.






The Strater Hotel restaurant has the most beautiful ceiling--hand painted--plaster and copper inlaid. Gorgeous!








One of the New York Institute of Photography is to do a 'contrast' shot. This can be bright light pouring in and then the object is dark and black--unless you can get the right fstop/apperture that will lighten up the dark object as I did here. This was a bouquet in the front of the restaurant and the east sun was pouring in the window.







This is the Strater Hotel in Durango. When we went and had breakfast in their restaurant they had glorious stained glass and antiques. This is one of the magnificient stained glass lamps up on the ceiling.

And then, it was time to leave beautiful Durango and get on Route 550 and head north toward Silverton on our way to Crested Butte, our destination. It turned out to be a surprising drive!




We were driving away from Durango, up Route 550 and we rounded a corner and there was a bunch of cars pulled off. With our experience in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons we knew this was a 'jam.' We saw a bunch of people out taking lots of photos. And I could not believe what was in the middle of the road!! A BIG HORN ram!!!






And here is a headshot of our Big Horn. WOW! This guy eventually moved off the highway--not because of the cars and trucks coming past it (and they did), but when a huge RV came by he leaped up the slope and to the top of the cliff. I was shooting with my short lens so I ran back to the car and got my Nikon 300mm and put it on! I couldn't believe my eyes--a big horn!! In the middle of a busy highway!







The Big Horn was walking on the cliff above the highway, parallelling it. I believe he wanted to go across the highway, I think.








And here is our magnificent Big Horn posing. He knows he's handsome!





And this Big Horn male would stop and pose. As if he knew he was being shot by about ten people. Beautiful, isn't he? When we got to Silverton and stopped at a gas station and I told the owner about it he nodded. He said at this time of year, breeding season, he said you'll see elk, big horn, deer and bears out in places you wouldn't normally see thelm. No kidding!! WOW!



I started shooting RAW photos. These are special photos (versus a jpeg or tiff that most people are familiar with) that actually see the photo the same way your eye sees it. In a Nikon, they are called NEF's. A raw photo can be manipulated with a special program called CS3 by Adobe. It's Creative Suite 3. When you put the raw photo in the program, you can do things by taking a dark object, like this immature Red Tail Hawk (shot with a 300mm and he was very high above us). Using CS3 and a raw photo, I was able to lighten it up and deepen and sharpen the photo even though it's still far away. At least I was able to identify the raptor!






The mountains around Silverton are nothing but colors from the reds, yellows and oranges. It makes for dramatic photos, don't you think?






I call this the 'chevron slope' and you can see the wonderful lines in the slope, not to mention, the great colors.








We stopped where there was some water and I wanted to use it as part of the frame while I shot these colorful slopes.


Here was some Fireweed that was near the small pond of water.







This 'crater' in the mountain was too good to resist shooting.





And then, we arrived in beautiful Silverton, Colorado. And they have some incredible 'paint pots' of mountains of orange, yellow, cream colors surrounded with green forest trees. Here is one of them.

We arrived at Crested Butte (about 28 miles north of Gunnison) about 4:00 pm. We have a lovely studio, it's quiet and has NO air conditioning. But it does have fans. We were very tired from the drive so we ordered room service instead of going out to eat. The Grand Lodge here has a lovely restaurant and I got ruby trout an Dave got a hamburger. Life is good.

I slept wrong last night and my hips are out. When I got to the Grand Lodge, I had Dan, who is the concierge, make me an appointment with a chiropractor in Gunnison on Monday at 4:30 pm. I won't be able to hike without pain if I can't get my hips straightened out. But, tomorrow is Saturday and at 9am I am getting a one hour massage! And one Sunday, too. I intend to pamper myself, just do photographs, play with them on my Adobe software and relax. The mountains surround us here and I'm looking forward to doing some serious hiking starting next Tuesday.

In Spirit...Eileen

POSTCARDS FROM DURANGO, COLORADO

Hi Everyone

Dave and I are trying to sneak away for a mini-break. Actually, we have a time share and if we don't take it--we lose it. We're in dire need of a break, and so this morning at 7am, we left home and headed North to Flagstaff, across to Gallup,New Mexico, and then turned north to Farmington and then crossed into Durango,CO. Our final destination is the Grand Crested Butte Lodge in Crested Butte, CO. This is near Gunnison, CO--a place where I have always wanted to go. They have a 'wildflower' festival in July, and even though I have missed that, I'm hoping by being in the area, I can find lots of them, anyway. We have a seven day timeshare and must arrive on 8.24/Friday evening. So, tomorrow, we'll leave the beautiful Strater Hotel here in Durango, and head on up north. I didn't take many photos today--I have an anthology copy edit that I must get done and turn around to my editor. So, I'm working on that in the car as Dave drives today. I got four chapters done--and there's six total--so I made progress.

Anyway--enjoy these candid shots as I played around with "Manual" on my Nikon. I was experimenting with f-stops and shutterspeeds. My ISO (asa) was 200. And set for a 'sunny' day. I hope you enjoy these!








This is the Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado. We're staying here tonight. It's a lovely old hotel. I am shooting on 'manual' with my Nikon and experimenting with different Fstops and shutter speeds. So, here is one shot.


And here is another shot of the Strater Hotel. Again, shooting on Manual, I've changed the f-stop and the shutterspeed. This one is lighter and brighter. Still, the 'darker' one, I think, gives it an air of mystery. What do you think? Which one is your favorite?


The western sun is very strong as I shot the engine of the Silverton-Durango railroad. We rode on this trip and it was wonderful about four years ago. I liked this photo--a challenge because I was shooting into very strong western sunlight. The trick was with this kind of bright backlighting not allowing my main subject--the engine--look dark--which it could. But, I got the right f-stop and shutterspeed! As an amateur trying to learn these different functions, I take each small baby step as a huge victory!




This was a very tricky shot. I had the bright light shining into my Nikon; the bright western sun on the right side blasting in, and then all the darkness on the left side of the train. How to bring it all together! And, this was a handheld shot, as all of these were. My hotel shots I rested my elbow on a light pole to make it the lines crisp and clean. Here, you see the soft blurring of the edges indicating this is definitely a hand held shot! So, I take joy in not having a contrasting situation so bad that one side looks too light and the other, too dark.




Here are some of the bluffs surrounding Durango, Colorado. You can see the bright western sun blasting in from the right. This was about the best photo I could get under the circumstances and my limited knowledge.




One of the photos I have to submit to the New York Institute of Photography course that I'm taking, is to shoot a moving object and MAKE it look like it is moving by 'blurring' it. That means a lower shutter speed. I caught this young girl with her two poodles and turned, handheld, and shot. I got the blur that NYIP wants, but it's not the kind of shot I'd want. I'd rather 'freeze' the object or subject and make it crisp, clear and clean looking. But, this photo falls into this particular assignment they want. I think I'll look for something else....


In Spirit, Eileen

ASTROLOGY:NEW MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE 9.11.07

911 ECLIPSE! September 11, 2007: Initiation and Transformation -- How To Take Advantage of its Offerings

by Eileen Nauman



Copyright 2007 Eileen Nauman
All Rights Reserved




http://www.medicinegarden.com

Email: docbones@gotsky.com

BLOG: http://talesfromechocanyon.blogspot.com

Permission to share with friends.
Permission must be gotten from me to post on any website or blog.


The 911 Eclipse is a once in a lifetime occurrence for us. Of all the days of the year an eclipse could have landed it on--it chose 911. Think about that. What are the chances of that happening? Don’t you think/feel hat there’s a synchronistic reason why this is happening to us right now???!!!

On September 11, 2007, we’re going to have a New Moon solar eclipse. It will occur at 5:44 a.m., PDT at 18 degrees Virgo 25 minutes. And it is an eclipse with the power of one hundred times the normal energy, behind it. This is a COSMIC GIFT coming our way. Initiation is being offered to everyone who desires it! Are you prepared? Do you want to take advantage of this cosmic event that happens once only every 247 years? You can be! Read on!

And, if you don’t understand the tenets of what an initiation is, read my previous article on it at:
http://medicinegarden.com/metaphysics/initiation.html

Luckily, this is a NEW moon eclipse; which takes the lunar power out of the punch compared that nasty, butt-kicking full moon eclipse of August 28, 2007, which was a visceral gut-punch with shocking Uranus energy to it, affected many of us. This New Moon eclipse isn’t much kinder for several reasons. Among them, Pluto and Venus are going direct on September 7 and 8, 2007 (read my individual articles on these two occurrences for in depth understanding). This couple is the power couple of the cosmos, quite literally. And it is setting up a lot of us who have heart issues/love issues/relationship issues, to make a decision that will be life changing and transformative. They are the energy fueling this 911 Eclipse.

If your marriage is in trouble now--wait. If your marriage is going through the normal ups and downs, you’ll be able to use this 911 eclipse to move through something big with success. If you are thinking of popping the question, you’ve got some interesting karma with your mate and it’s very powerful and transfusing. Those who have fractured relationships are more than likely going to disassemble during this eclipse or just before it. Who you love, being loved, are on the table right now. Losing loved ones will be there for many of us, as well. And of course, we have 9.11 to celebrate but this year it is going to be very, very poignant and heart rending--more than usual--because of all the cosmic energies in alignment to make this one of the most important days in our year.

On a new moon, the ‘tides’ of the blood in the body are at their lowest ebb. Without a lot of excessive water/fluids in the body to put pressure on the sensitive brain, people’s emotions aren’t going to be quite as trigger-happy as they could be--under normal circumstances. But this eclipse is not a normal at all for the reasons I’ve stated above.

The butt-kicking full moon lunar eclipse of August 28 was a warm up and tip off for this new moon solar eclipse of September 11th. We’ve been getting ‘adjustments’ or ‘tweaks’ getting us ready for the massive turn of Pluto/Venus on September 7-8th and it only adds to the chaos of the first two weeks of this month as a result. Those who are smart cookies are making the adjustments, appreciating the focus of the eclipse in their lives to show where they need to work, clean up their act, heal a wound or do some interior ‘house renovations’ on themselves.

This is a super powerful eclipse--not your common, garden variety, at all, because of Pluto’s transforming energy, the spiritual messages streaming from our Galactic Center of our spiral-armed galaxy to us, as well as Venus being a player so we can get to our heart chakra breakthrough. Surely, if there ever was an INITIATION in the wings, it is on this 911 eclipse. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do NOT waste it!!! So, don’t ignore this opportunity to make the adjustments or continued changes to grow, mature and spread your wings, spiritually speaking.

New Moon always signals “new” things. The eclipse is like a Cosmic light switch being thrown on in an area of our lives that needs to be seen and highlighted. Like a flashlight turned on in a dark room, you get to see something or make an awareness that you had not, before. Further, you can lose a friend or ally as the eclipse shows a dark side or a hidden agenda or modus operandi that you were not aware of before. Also, solar eclipses are about outer events in our external world. It could involve people around you who make you react or react.

INITIATION: SEEDS FOR THE NEW YOU

Think of this as seeds that are planted now by you, that will be harvested in 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th months from the above date. Initiation means seed beginnings. Starting something new, a birthing, so to speak, that carries on into the future. Contrary to public thinking, initiations are not the culmination of things, they are actually the beginning of some new area that you wish to evolve into over time, trial and error. It does not mean you are special or unique at all. Everyone undergoes many, many initiations in their lifetime. You can always tell an initiation because it is testing for weeks, months or years, and then you get the ‘final’ test--and this is a ‘final’ test coming up with this New Moon eclipse. Once you pass this, you have moved up your own spiral of development to a NEW level to match the NEW moon energy of this incredible eclipse!

However, with this unique eclipse, it’s pretty obvious and is a flag waver in comparison to others with the galactic core shining light through the darkest of our nights. Changes or awareness might now happen right away, but guaranteed you will see action on your planting September 11, 2007, December 11, 2007 and finally March 11, 2008 and June 11, 2008 . This is because as the eclipse begins with a conjunction, then squares, opposes its original aspect, it triggers off energy that is can be catalyzed, and finally, a year later, conjuncts that position once more. For those who are being catalyzed by it, this is going to be an active, dynamic year of change. This is going to herald the Year of the Initiation for those who want to take it. And, as always, it’s a free will choice.

MANIFESTATION OF OUTER EVENTS AROUND US

This catalyzation process is going to be very obvious; for a solar (sun) eclipse always brings outer events, such as a person, a group, or a body of individuals who make decisions and you are influenced by them. How much you’re influenced depends up on how close to the eclipse you have a planet or your ascendant, Midheaven, for example. This is an inner initiation where you are getting ‘straight’ with you and what you are--and where you are in your life currently--and if you don’t like yourself or an attitude, or a certain emotional response (jealousy, envy, competitive, bully, clingy, ect., ect.) that you carry, then you have the astronomical energy abounding around you to help you transform (Pluto going direct earlier in September) from a weakness into a strength. This is truly a catalytic EVENT and even the Cosmos is jumping in to help you be a better person from the inside out right now. This is such a special gift from the Cosmos to us that it is mind boggling and awe-inspiring.

WHO IS AFFECTED?

Virgo and Pisces people

This time, it is Virgo sun sign people and the opposite sign, Pisces sun sign people. Because the 911 eclipse is occurring in the mid degrees Virgo people born September 8th through the 14th with the most focus on September 11th, are the most affected.

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Symbolically for Virgo and Pisces, this is an initiation seed planting time; new ideas, new ways of thinking, new ways of looking at life, or at a problem that has had you trapped will now be solved, for example. Time for the snake to shed his/her skin and get a new look! Or a new attitude change. Or some kind of “aha” that breaks the chains of darkness with those of us who are affected by this transformative and initiatory eclipse.

PISCES PEOPLE

By opposite sign, Pisces folks are in the spotlight, too and they will feel the energy in opposition aspect. Those born between March 4 through the 10th will be involved, but those with a birthday on March 7th, will feel it most intensely.


VIRGO, IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON!

For the Virgo folks who are involved by degree with this eclipse, there are going to be decisions made, because this eclipse is opposite your Sun. The rubber meets the road here, for Virgo people. It is not time to hide, Virgo, or drag your feet while you analyze it. It is time to gallop toward new opportunities that are coming your way and will be offered to you on a silver platter, no less. If you do act, then the same situation, person or event is going to repeat itself on the above dates, throughout 2007 and 2008; so you might as well bite the bullet and “just do it” and make a final decision and move on.

THE ECLIPSE SPOTLIGHT FOCUSES ON A BUMPY REENTRY

If we look at the world right now, it’s easy to see it is in chaos. Wars abound. Terrorism is always with us. The Bush Administration has brought on what they’ve practiced behind the scenes with Libby, the Vice-President’s chief of staff, being indicted for lying and cover up. The Democrats are in power and baubling the ball of power as usual. And, many candidates are throwing their hat in the ring for the 2008 presidential election. Sadly, the most prevalent emotion is FEAR and is the greatest global factor working to control all of us. If it isn’t terrorism, it is the threat of Iran nuking the USA. If we don’t get blown up, we’ll die in a pandemic. Do you see how FEAR is controlling us through the media? Wouldn’t it be lovely if the media could start doing some POSITIVE articles and stories on the uplifting elements of human behavior, instead? But, they won’t because the world is in a twelve year out-of-control death spiral into destruction on some levels. Fear has a tendency to make us dig deeper into the hole we know rather than to ‘risk’ anything else. Fortunately, not everyone is of that mindset, but these eclipses are about powering us up and out of such paralyzing fear and give us a choice to do something else that may well be far more positive for each of us--if we have the courage to ‘just do it,’ as the Nike commercial says.

So, it is up to each of us to have faith and know that the goodness of human beings trumps anything that the media hype is trying to pound into our existence. Creating acts of compassion, kindness and thoughtfulness are always important--but never more than now. Each time you do something from your heart for someone else, it is fighting the darkness of FEAR which has this planet and many of its people, paralyzed. But you don’t have to be a prisoner of it at all. Nope. In fact, but kindness, conscious acts of care, nurturing, and giving, is taking this ‘war’ to a whole new level--the HEART level--where we are all struggling to move into during this twelve years of what the Mayans call the ‘end of time.’ And if we are successful, we can unroll the Cosmic Carpet of a thousand years of peace to our beautiful planet. THAT is worth working toward, I feel--but it takes each individual being responsible and conscious of their acts/reactions, to do this.

And, the good news is the Cosmos is aiding and abetting our getting a planet of Peace, not War. How? Why, by setting up such spectacular Cosmic events like this one!! A new moon eclipse with Pluto going direct earlier in the month and heading for a conjunct ion, once more, with the Galactic Center. WOW! Talk about a big, evolutional, spiritual prezzies coming your way! I sincerely hope everyone takes advantage of this incredible offering. Read on and I’ll tell you how to do just that.

Virgo AND Pisces FOCUS

Virgo and Pisces people will find the spotlight on them and new ideas, support, paths and choices are going to open up for them, too. They will see both sides of the coin, and be aware of the other party’s intentions. By knowing that, they can make decisions, which definitely are on the plate right now. Virgo people will find this a highly active time and they they are adaptable to change, so they’ll be very affected by this eclipse which is a door that can open and they can walk through, if they choose. Pisces is also capable of risk taking and moving ahead but they must look before the rush brashly to make that leap first. Know what you’re getting into before you leap, Pisces.

Because it is an eclipse and the Moon is involved, this gives us pause to look at ourselves in a emotional sense. Just how are we doing as a human being? Are we being too harsh with ourselves? With others? Probably the most important essence of the Moon is PROJECTIONS. Are you projecting your stuff on others unfairly? Stop and look at this, because you’re probably doing it because you feel threatened or on the defense with this person, place, group or thing. When we project, this muddles the air and its not the truth--not for you, and not for the other party, either. A projection is what we, personally and subconsciously, don’t want to own because it’s our Shadow or “bad stuff” that we don’t like (or are afraid of), within ourselves. Projection is an easy answer (it’s her or his fault, not yours.....something did something to you...you didn’t have any energy or play in this scenario....kind of thinking....which is not correct.) Any time we aim a projection out at another, we are harming ourselves and them. This is not healthy.

So, this eclipse will give us all pause to look closely at ourselves. What are we putting “out there” and how is being received by others? Sometimes, we just have to stand naked and vulnerable and state our truth and know that this is enough. You don’t need to defend yourself, for the truth of the situation will out. Of course, just because you speak your truth doesn’t mean the other party is going to agree or buy it, so just be aware that this might not be a touchy-feely happy conclusion to whatever is going on in your life right now.

Still, telling the truth and owning up to and identifying our projections is the BEST thing we can do in the week leading up to this eclipse energy (that would be September 4th through the 11th). The eclipse is going to be a highly emotional day; much more so than usual. Pluto, the god of Transformation, will be very active because it will go direct 4 days beforehand. And Venus three days before the eclipse kicks off. The key here is, Virgo and Pisces get to face the music, listen and hear what people are saying--and then run it through your own screens to sift what you can that is positive and healthy first, for you....and secondly for the other party or people/thing/situation involved. If you do get involved in some intense situation or event, use it as a catalyst (Pluto/Venus energy) to learn positively from it.


PLUTO and VENUS direct just before the 911 Eclipse--a time to absorb and become transformed

Pluto goes direct on September 7, 2007. Right now, it is conjunct the Galactic Center which is found at 26 Sagittarius. The light and heart of the galaxy sheds its energy upon the Earth at this moment in time. And what an avalanche it will be! Pluto is about stripping away all that is unneeded (although we may think we need lots of things, we don’t) and touching a person’s soul. There is still plenty of eclipse “wash” energy from this duo as they work together out in the Cosmos. Normally, a new moon eclipse is short on emotional blow ups, drama and that sort of thing--and this one will be. Another gift is in the offing. With Pluto’s energy building there, you can get an extra bunch of cosmic fairy dust to help yourself evolve on all levels. Those signs affected by this eclipse are at their best when they try to strike a balance; so just be aware of this ‘other’ cosmic event being around as the eclipse take place. The good news is that with Venus going direct a day later than Pluto, she will take off the rough edges and make this a smoother transition into our heart chakra, our issues with love and working through situations with more ease than normal. Thank you, Venus! Once more, you are the cosmic guardian angel of all our hearts.

SHADOW OF THE ECLIPSE COMING SHORTLY

Eclipses begin to be felt seven days before; and that means from September 4th through the 11, 2007, you may feel the changes and demands that you become flexible, starting to infiltrate your daily world. This is what we call the ‘shadow period’ when the energy is building toward release, which would be the day of the eclipse. Sensitive people will definitely feel it--no doubt. And even people who usually aren’t as ‘aware’ will feel the currents of energies, like waves emanating from the Galactic Center, this time around. Just remain adaptable, open to your intuition on how to best work with this incredible initiatory HEART energy, and you’ll get through this just fine.

HOW DOES THIS ECLIPSE AFFECT YOU?

HOW this eclipse affects these people is entirely dependent upon what HOUSE the eclipse falls in, what PLANET it affects either by conjunction or opposition, as well as the other ASPECTS to that planet, to either modify or intensify this eclipse.

This requires a professional astrologer to look at your chart to tell you the possibilities. You can engaged the services of the medicinegarden.com’s professional astrologer and find out. Our own Rosemarie Brown is a natal counselor. Just contact her at: starrose@sedona.net. http://www.rosemariebrown.com


ASCENDANT OR MIDHEAVEN INVOLVED?

If you have an Ascendant (rising sign) anywhere from 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or 19 degrees are most affected or your Midheaven (10th house cusp), then you are going to be directly affected by this eclipse. How?

If the eclipse highlights your ascendant, expect a person or several people within your circle of friends and acquaintances, to get in touch with you. It might be by phone, email, a letter, or they may be coming to visit you. Since this eclipse is on the Autumn Equinox, a time of going within yourself (think meditation here) are highlighted. The Autumnal Equinox is September 23, and this energy is supporting the eclipse, too. The bottom line is that new seeds (new moon eclipse energy) can be planted within you, sprout and grow in the Fall earth, something beautifully new and wonderful will sprout fully within you and you’ll be consciously aware of it the next Spring, 2008. September is quite a Pandora’s box--it is highly ‘active’ energy-wise, so be sure to take advantage of all this ‘seed’ energy being spread around and get your share of it.

This is such a fertile time for our soul and our journey here on this Earth. I’m not saying it is going to be painless because the aspects are all hard on the day of the eclipse. But it is a rare offering and I hope many take advantage of this wondrous cosmic activity being sprinkled over us like magical fairy dust from the Cosmos. Venus, at least, will be around to bind our wounds and help us see the silver lining in the clouds.

If the eclipse is conjunct your Midheaven, then you can expect to have ideas or have contacts with people that you work with or for. It may be that you’re going to a business dinner; with your boss or someone from work. Pay attention if this is so, because some very good long-term things can come out of it for you and your career.

Remember: whatever happens this coming week (usually the seven days leading up to the Eclipse are the most active and things are happening, so pay attention....) of September 4 through the 11th, and be prepared for CHANGE and perhaps, if you’re prepared, a BREAKTHROUGH of incredible awareness and proportion. Just remember, this is good in the long run, although for some of us, it might not seem to be right now as we enter the “shadow” of the pre-eclipse time.

USING THE VESICA PISCES SYMBOL TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR INITIATION!

I believe we live in one of the most important times in the last 247 years (the last time Pluto conjuncted the GC/Galaxy Center). It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we were lucky enough to program a lifetime for right now to take advantage of this mass spiritual initiation that is here, for all of us--if we want to grab for the brass ring and go for it. Here’s HOW you can go for it.

I wrote probably one of the most important articles in my life in February/2007. Here is part of it. The part about how to USE the Vesica Pisces double circle and ‘eye’ so that you can INCREASE your chances of using this coming initiatory energy that will stream like light from the heart of God/Great Spirit (or whomever you believe in) toward US. This is an incredible GIFT coming our way. Here’s how I am going to be preparing to absorb as much of it as I can--and maybe this way and ‘tool’ may resonate deeply within you to try it out, too.


“PREPARING FOR THE GLOBAL SHIFT and moving to the LIGHT from the DARK: How to Do It”

This article is full of information--including the meditation with the Vesica Virgo symbol....and you can use this ‘tool’ to make the MOST of this new moon lunar energy coming in--especially the week before the eclipse. Myself, I like meditating daily with the VP, year around! But, you find out what works for you. This article will tell you how to set it up, what it’s all about, and how it can assist you in moving more into your heart and being a more compassionate human being--what a deal!

http://www.medicinegarden.com/metaphysics/globalshift2007.html




HELP TO MAKE THIS ECLIPSE TRANSFORMATION PAINLESS--WELL, ALMOST PAINLESS....


I don’t believe we have to SUFFER (at all) through a retrograde or direct period. The people below are, in my opinion, the best in their particular business and are skillful catalysts to help people to help themselves. Utilize the eclipse in the BEST and most healthy of ways....check out this group and choose which tools resonate most strongly with you and contact them. You won’t be sorry you did! And, with this November 19, 2007 coming up, this is an OPPORTUNITY to off load our wounds, get in touch with what is strong or weak within us--and fix it. So, this is a fix-it-up time. Take advantage of this enlightening period of time!


ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELORS:

You can engaged the services of the medicinegarden.com’s professional astrologer and find out. Our own Rosemarie Brown is a natal counselor. Just contact her at: starrose@sedona.net. Her website is: http://www.rosemariebrown.com

If you are wanting to move and aren’t sure where or you have a place in mind, but aren’t sure if it’s “right” for you, they have locale information available. If health is your consideration, both are trained medical astrologers. Or, Gail Carswell at rockdoc@mindspring.com. Or, Michael Foltz at solardoc@mindspring.com.

I'm sure one of these three professionals will be able to shed considerable light in what is going on in your life and the many choices you have available to you to institute and use. Better yet, visit their website: http://www.owlswebnest.com, for more information on all the services they provide.

DE-STRESS YOURSELF

NEED A “Coach”, some serious therapy that gets to the “heart” of your angst or what you’re wrestling with? We recommend Rosemarie Brown. Please contact her at: http://www.rosemariebrown.com or by email at: Rosemarie Brown

VOICE ANALYSIS--THE MISSING NOTE

I’ve had my voice analyzed by Ani Williams and I can tell you from personal experience that we all have a “missing note” in our life. So what? Well, consider this. Without this missing note back in our life, we aren’t working off of 8 cylinders. We’re working on 6--or less! Please go to Ani’s website for more information. This is a life-changing “tool” that you should include in your personal Pluto transformation kit. http:// www.aniwilliams.com or contact her via email at: songaia@earthlink.net

SPIRITUAL UPKEEP RENOVATION: NEED A SHAMAN?

Gail Carswell, Michael Foltz, Grace Verte (GraceVerte@Netsedona.com), Karen David (KDMystic@aol.com) and Rosemarie Brown are all trained shamanic facilitators who can help you through your spiritual transformation. For more information on Soul Recovery and Extraction, go to: http://www.medicinegarden.com/SRE/SREchapter.html and then contact one of them for further help!

FOR CARE OF BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT: HOMEOPATHY

Our favorite classically trained homeopath is Yolande Grill of Cave Creek, Arizona. She does long-distance case taking by phone and I consider her one of the best we’ve got in the USA. So, don’t delay! She is also a shamanic facilitator, as well. Get a hold of Yolande at: y.grill@att.net