As I reflected this morning, upon last night’s terrorizing of my bank account and my hyper-vigilant need for meaning around seemingly random events, I realized the connection between Cooper the Horse and Cooper the Car.

I’d been obsessing about my horse, Cooper, and the coming retrograde. He has debilitated Mercury conjoined Rahu in Pisces, which indicates imbalances and problems with his feet. Much of his rehabilitation has been with and through his feet, especially after the eclipse patterns that hit last November and December.

The eclipses hit Cooper the horse’s feet hard and he has had to wear a boot, off and on, over the last three months. The boot, has served to protect Cooper’s foot, after a shoe had fallen off and earlier, when the foot had to be treated for bruising and abscessing from a negligent farrier’s putting in ‘hot’ nails.

I’ve had a growing concern, about a repeat injury or shoe loss, during the coming retrograde, with horse-Cooper. Losing a shoe for a Cooper, sets him back in his conditioning, not to mention that it is uncomfortable. Vet bills are expensive, too, and I do not need this added financial burden. So, I’ve been thinking about different upayas, remediation for debilitated Mercury in Cooper’s chart. Green blankets, green glitter spray on his feet (seriously), anything!

When viola! The boot on the car-Cooper.

Perfect karmic remediation.

I’d much rather have a boot on the car-cooper then the horse-Cooper. Much better to pay the city their fees, that by the way, go to public services such as education, etc,. then another vet bill (no offense, NW Equine;))

So I’m hoping the Mini-Cooper took the karma, for Cooper the Horse. That remuneration is complete. That horse-Cooper’s feet, are past the ups and downs (Rahu!) as well as my bank account. That the Mini-Cooper, Cooper the Horse and my bank account, can now all settle down, ‘boot-up’…re-boot even…during the up coming retrograde.

I got the call at 6AM last February after a snow storm.  “Your horse is down and he can’t get up”.   A terrifying 40 minute drive to the barn and six nightmarish  hours later, Oakland was gone.

These last four months have been a mix; an amalgam of hell and grace on earth however, I’ve come to a place on the eve of the third of three eclipses (running two weeks apart beginning June 1, 2011) where I can now write about this loss without choking up.

Oakland was a racehorse until the age of eight.  A long career for a racehorse who ran on a track in New Mexico much of that time.  Running on the tracks in New Mexico is like running on the surface of Mars.  It’s hot and rocky with red, redder then red soil.  The conditions were brutal but Oakland survived it to came back to Washington state to begin a second career, that of a cross-county event jumper at the age of ten.

Cross-country jumping is a grueling event where horse and rider are timed as they run the gantlet of water obstacles and brush jumps.  The terrain can be rough and dangerous.  The criticism I heard about Oakland from a former rider of his was that he ran too fast which disqualified them on a regular basis.  That’s the Oakland I so dearly love and miss.

Oakland could run across the surface of Mars only to look for the next gate and ring of the bell.  After that, Oakland could take any and all jumps and just to show’em, run too fast!

On the eve of this third eclipse which takes place tomorrow, Friday July 1, 2011, you may be feel like you’ve run a gauntlet of brush jumps, rocky walls and water obstacles.  Make no mistake, we have!

We are at the end of this particular race and it’s obstacle course.  One filled with jumps and ditches designed to scare and spook us.  We’ve come through it and so now is the time to rest and restore.  Don’t worry about the past or fret about the future, dial down and let go.  It’s the natural course of things.

Oakland’s last career, his third and final job was to be my teacher.  He taught me many things but one of the best of his teachings was how to hang-out and trail ride in the foothills of the Cascade mountains.  Together, we saw mountain lions and bears and rode through the trees rich with hanging moss, deep in shadow and light.  He did his job and did it with joy and dignity.

Rest and restore and find what brings you peace and dignity during this time.  Take in the long light of these summer days as soon enough, the dark and rain will return.  When it does, remember at the end of every race there is a reward and if it appeals to you, remember Oakland and his teachings from the trail.

Kumbha is the root word for the pranayamic breath practice called kumbhaka, which means breath retention.  There are two parts in kumbhaka of which one is the internal breath and the other the external breath. Kumbhaka as a breath practice goes beyond simple inhales and exhales.  At the end of the external breath, there is a resting…a pause…before the next breath comes.  This pause is a kind of gandanta which means knot.

Loosening knots

When a planet transits from one sign to the next, it is also called gandanta.  Depending upon the nature of the elements associated with the constellations, this knot can be very difficult to unravel indeed. The more you try to untie the knot, the tighter it becomes. What gandanta represents for ourselves is the knot of challenges we are trying to reconcile and dissolve within.

Jupiter’s tendency to spread has been held, retained in Aquarius, similar to how our breath is held and retained in Kumbhaka.  As Jupiter moves into Pisces, a dual water sign, ready yourself for both a collective and personal exhale, a release of the retention.  The symbol of Pisces is two fish going in opposite directions.  In this way however, we can expect vata to increase even though Pisces is a water sign.

A dual sign in water is vata-kapha and just like in the human body, a difficult dosha to manage when aggravated.  Vata goes up and down and by nature contracts however under water’s influence, the nature will be to spread and expand in extreme.  In the human body, this is the tenancy for weight to go up and down and for emotions to fluctuate to the extreme.

Breathing lessons

Remember Jupiter’s breathing lessons while under the influence of Aquarius, his kumbhaka as we move into Pisces December 5th.  Allow the knots at the end of self to dissolve and loosen like moorings tethering a boat to a dock.

Jupiter’s transit through the last degrees of Aquarius and into Pisces will bring a rise in the metaphorical water level (water represents the emotions), a displacement in which we need to be flexible and adaptable as a response and while our boat’s line may completely loosen and fall away from it’s docking, we can find anchor in spiritual practices like yoga and pranayama.

Rhythmic inhales and exhales of the disciplined and conscious breath is one of the best treatments for vata as it provides order and containment for air and space just as Aquarius has held space for Jupiter over the last year on the eve of his transit into Pisces.  Allow knots of past expectation to dissolve trusting the next breath to be filled with life’s power and resiliency even as we move toward short days and longer nights. The Light of winter’s solstice will dawn just as the inhale follows the deep pause at the end of a long exhale.

Fragile Footing

Picking rock out of Oakland’s field is necessary and is a preventative measure for his soundness. Thoroughbreds, as a result of controlled breeding (or inbreeding as the case may be) have thin hoof soles that bruise easily.  Removing the rock removes the chances of Oakland forming an abscess, a painful condition in which pus and blood rupture from the sole of the hoof or worse, his breaking a leg.

After several weeks of raking, sorting and moving rocks with a wheelbarrow, I realized I was actually treating a painful condition of my own and sorting through the rock and manure was helping me make sense of what felt senseless and impossible.  I was “raking” through the first year after my divorce and the act of clearing hard stones and animal waste was not lost on me.  I’d been married 20 years and I was struggling with it as if I’d lost a limb.

Whether it’s moving hundreds of stone or finding a needle in a haystack, the challenge is the same. That challenge is facing ourselves and the accompanying range of emotions at the beginning of a new job, big move or life change.  It may feel overwhelming and appears impossible but the impossibility is as deceptive as mistaking rocks for manure.  Once a major task is started, we can sort ourselves out and this seems to be the point, so to speak.

The Country Phoenix

After a while, I looked forward to clearing rock and manure from Oakland’s field.  I enjoyed the hard sweat, the exposure to wind and sun and hearing the range of bird song and and in particular, the neighbor’s roosters. The rooster is a country cousin to the mythological phoenix and hearing the rooster’s crow reminded me of a saying which is this, the first act of creation is destruction and to rise whole and complete means all must be first, completely destroyed.

Saturn in Jyotisha, is the ruler of structure and structures breaking down, time and truth, delay and limitation, service and labor. He rules ground and earth, dirt and farmers, rocks, stone and agriculture. Saturn shares ruler-ship of the horse and animals who work and he rules crows as well as birds who scavenge and eat carrion. Saturn is also the planet of loss and grief.

The grief of Saturn is that which comes through experiencing loss and realizing limits. As we age, we realize the limits of our physical body and limits of friends and family. We lose a closeness with family and love in intimate relationship as well as experience limits set by nature through the relentless rhythm of the seasons and the rising and the setting of the sun. Fortunately, once we have found our limits and the bottom of our grief and have nothing left to lose, we can let go and find our truth and freedom.

As we age, we learn these things and this is why Saturn rules the old and the elderly.  Once Saturn enters our lives and we have gained this powerful experience of limits and our truth in nature, we also have an opportunity to gain the greatest of boons from Saturn and this is wisdom and authority.

What Saturn wants

Grounding is the most powerful of Saturnine labors. What ever the work is that grounds us, we must find that and exercise it by ourselves, alone.  Clearing rock and manure is grounding and feels like picking at Saturn’s bones and for me, picking at Saturn’s bones is very satisfying indeed.

Saturn is pleased maybe even happy, when we dig through earth and refuse and scavenge at his bones.  Saturn wants us to dig and sort; to work like a horse and pick like a crow.   To excavate and turn stone,  to move dead things so that they are all the more broken down and digested in the end.

We  have all faced loss in life, challenges that  felt impossible and overwhelming.  If not, you will and if you already have, you will again. When it comes for the first time or once again,  find a way to sort and scratch through your grief, rock and waste.

Find ground within yourself and in this way, you’ll find ground with Saturn.  On this cultivated and hollowed ground, Saturn pays his respect and surrenders his wise bones, just  like rock pushing up at of Oakland’s pasture.

Sea Biscuit became the symbol of the underdog during the 1930′s depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal and the build-up to WWII.  Sea Biscuit was foaled in 1933 and ran his great races from 1936 to 1937.

‘Secretariat’, the movie was filmed during 2008 and 2009, a time called the worst financial crisis since the 1930′s, and was filmed during the Iraq-Afghanistan war, a conflict compared to the Vietnam.

Secretariat, Sea Biscuit and and the movie ‘Secretariat’ share remarkable similarities relative to the political and financial crisis of their time. What they share astrologically are transit patterns of Ketu in Gemini and Rahu in Sagittarius.

Secretariat of 1972 and Sea Biscuit of 1936 also shared Jupiter’s debilitation in Capricorn. In other words, the historical worst was yet to come in 1972 and 1936.

As for us in November of 2010, Jupiter is past his debilitation but his positive influence continues to be weak and this is what we are currently experiencing.

Slowly but surely

Jupiter is the indicator of wealth, growth and abundance and was seriously weakened in Capricorn during the fall of 2008.  Jupiter is now retrograding in Aquarius, a sign associated with meeting the ideals and desires of the individual within the public sphere.

After a short stop in Aquarius November 18, Jupiter resumes direct motion, transiting into Pisces December 5.  Jupiter’s movement from the air sign of Aquarius into the water sign Pisces is an initiation, the indicator and beginning of a big wave.

We’ve seen Jupiter’s wave effect in Aquarius at the recent mid-term elections but once out of the sign of public idealism and politic, Jupiter is back into his own water sign of Pisces.  Pisces is associated with great faith and the thirst of devotion but also gullibility and this is where Jupiter will be for the better part of 2011.

Jupiter’s nature is to spread and grow so while in Pisces, collective and personal finances will improve however slowly.  Saturn continues to cast a dry and withering glance from Virgo, delaying growth while demanding budgets and financial planning based in somber reality.

Where shadows lie

Rahu and Ketu are called shadow planets and are the points where the solar eclipse and the lunar eclipse occur.  Astronomically, an eclipse is when the direct light of the Sun and reflected light of the moon are blocked.  Astrologically, eclipses are points where upheaval and shedding occur within both the collective and person and as a result, the world and the individual state of mind can become very dark indeed.

Next month mid-December, we’ll have the last set of eclipses for 2010 in Sagittarius and Gemini. Sagittarius is optimistic and inspired but under Rahu’s influence, Sagittarius’s big ideas can over inflate and verge on fantasy. They may blow away like so much smoke.

Gemini  is communicative and sociable; loves to interact with others  but under Ketu’s influence, Gemini withdraws and becomes irritable.   As a result, Gemini maybe plagued with self-doubt and distrust.

The balance and stabilizing function is found through the Jupiter-Saturn transit axis.  Saturn in Virgo maintains tight order sorting ‘needs vs. wants’, holding the economic bottom line.  Saturn’s influence upon Jupiter in Pisces brings us a more sober form of hope and faith in the coming year.

Get ready…

Secretariat and Sea Biscuit were racehorses who inspired hope and imagination in the public during dark and challenging times.  ‘Secretariat’ the movie sets out to inspire and generate hope for us having passed through a dark period but not the hardest part of the race.

Positioning in a race, as all athletes will tell us, is imperative to either winning or losing.   Position yourself now to win. Create strategies for change and growth as we move into the spring of 2011 and continue to lighten up on material burden and debt.  Prepare to run a race where extra weight will only slow you down.

Remember the words of Secretariat’s owner, Penny Tweedy,”Life is ahead of us and we’ve got to run at it with everything we’ve got”.

Marma is a Sanskrit word meaning hidden, or secret. By definition, a marma is a juncture on the body where two or more types of tissue meet such as muscles, veins, ligaments, bones or joints.

More importantly, marmas are where the gross meets subtle as marmas are intersections between physical tissues and subtle life-force (prana). In Ayurveda, marmas house the doshas (vata-pitta-kapha) providing an immediate treatment protocol via the modality of massage.

In Ayurvedic philosophy, doshas make up a person’s constitution. The trinity includes vata (air), pitta (fire) and kapha (earth-water). Everyone is born in a state of balance, or prakriti. During the aging process, factors such as anxiety, poor diet and sleep habits cause disharmony among the doshas.

Doshic imbalance will block the movement of free-flowing energy in the body, prana. Eventually, blockage and stagnation of prana will set the ground for physical-mental discomfort and disease.

Treating marma via massage moves stagnant prana either by arousing or calming the doshas as each marma has three receiving points that align with the three doshas.

Asana has a similar effect upon marma as reflected by the names of the asana that specifically treat that area of the body.  A commonly known pose is Janu Shirshasana.  Janu means knee and shirsha means head.

Treating the Janu marmani both through Janu Shirshasana and massage manages vata and kapha.  The indications for treatment are arthritis, limited rage of motion, PVD, pain and edema of the lower extremities.

Saturn is at 13:20 degrees with Ketu and Rahu quickly closing ranks.  Ketu in Gemini and Rahu in Sagittarius create an interesting juxtaposition (square) with Jupiter Rx and Saturn.  In addition, Ketu in Mercury’s sign adds a nice twist to Saturn’s position in Virgo as Mercury exchanges with the Sun in Virgo.  Saturn’s stare-down with Jupiter as Rahu transits Sagittarius, is jerking Sag around and if this were not enough, Saturn gives 10th house aspect upon Ketu.  Ok…so now what does all of this mean? (Beside fact that Saturn is super strong today).

In medical astrology, Virgo rules the digestion system and specifically, the small intestine. The function of the small intestine is to sort useful nutrients from the chaff of what goes into our mouths, gets mostly chewed and then swallowed…in other words, the good from the bad and the ugly.  Saturn is a dry planet and in Virgo (an earth sign), is even more prone to contraction and over-exacting behavior.  What we’ve seeing are the effects of Saturn on Jupiter (indicator of growth and abundance) as the much hoped for economic recovery, like a watched pot, never really boiled.

Now Saturn is conjoined the Sun (in Virgo) and one would think this could add much needed heat (agni as digestive fire) to the digestive process.  Instead, it’s an acid-burn.  Mercury in Leo exchanges with the Sun in Virgo indicating collective heart palpitations, nervous stomach upset and indigestion as the summer comes to an end.

Saturn conjoined the Sun is a classical yoga associated with government. The nodes, well known for their ability to twist and  distort, are having their way with Saturn and the Sun. As the  nodes close rank by degree upon Saturn as is the Sun, watch for media distortion and political twisting (both parties) of economic numbers and foreign policy concerns.

Sort the facts from distortion, fear from genuine concern.

Balanced perception is a function as indicated by Mercury.  Sadly, Mercury due to current transit and the recent past, rugged retrograde , is tired and very dry.  These conditions generate vata (air and space) condition which most people experience as anxiety and panic.

Jupiter sliding backwards through Pisces, indicates the financial slowdown along with a drying up of hope for growth as a result of the government stimulus packages.  The economic setting currently, is like the digestive system, it’s having a hard time absorbing nutrients in order to rebuild tissues and generate energy.

Watch the 24 hour news ‘feed’ or better yet, don’t watch and avoid the resulting painful-gas as the slowdown continues and distortion-distraction builds.  Jon Stewart and his  Daily Show, “March for Sanity” provides a welcome release and breath of fresh air via lampooning political gas-bags and fear mongers.

The Aswini are luminal, twin Vedic deities giving spiritual strength. One twin fills the universe with light while the other twin with fluidity. The Aswini represent the dawn, the stage between night and first breaking of light. They guide our transcendent quest for reality and truth and are symbolized by twin horses (ashva) or a horses head.

In Vedic astrology, the Ashwini are the physicians of the gods. They are kind and generous deities who bring health and offer miracle cures to people. They use their great knowledge to help not only the gods and goddesses, but human beings too, as they alleviate all suffering. The Ashwini chose compassion over all else.

In Vedic science, ashva (the horse) is prana, the energy that propels the zodiac as a single wheeled-chariot yoked by seven planets. It is the wheel of time on which all beings are placed. The Vedic horse (ashva) is a symbol of the life energy (prana) and indicates perfect control over the breath (Pranayama) as well as dazzling speed.

In the Rigveda, horses (prana) are yoked to the chariot of Indra, king of the gods (higher self).  The chariot represents our body as vehicle and the horses, our sensory organs through which prana is gathered. The mind (ego) is the driver who holds the reins (yamas and niyamas) and next to the mind sits the true observer (higher self), Indra.  We refine our senses and “driving” skills through Raja yoga (yoga is skill in action), cultivating the higher self as the mind mediates and navigates worldly phenomena.

Ashvamedha was an ancient Vedic ritual used to assert and extend the power and authority of a raja; a King over a region.  A male horse, a stallion was selected for sacrifice. Water was sprinkled over the horse and mantras whispered into his ears. A dog was killed after which the horse was set free.  The sacrificial horse was then allowed to wander into various regions and where ever the horse wandered, that land came under the rule of the king. Anyone who stopped the horse had to face the king in a battle. The horse was accompanied by an army, members of the royal court and Vedic priests.

The priests performed rituals continuously and after a year of wandering, the horse would be ceremoniously welcomed home. The chief queen and other royal consorts anointed the sacred horse with ghee and decorated him with golden ornaments. The priest offered the horse grain after which the horse and other animals are slaughtered.

The horse head is associated with Vishnu and Draco, the dragon constellation as well as the Aswini twins. In the Vedas, Vishnu places the entire Universe on the top of this horse’s head.  The story goes that Vishnu put on the horse’s head after the Rishis Dadhyanca had worn it when telling the secret of Soma to the Aswini twins, the celestial doctors. The secret of the Soma (immortality) was overheard by the Asuras (demons) and then these demons used the knowledge to destroy the universe.

Vishnu, in order to save the universe, put on the horse’s head and gained the knowledge once held by Rishi Dadhyanca (as told to him by Indra), and set about flying through the galaxy and through the galactic south pole between Gemini and Taurus and the galactic north pole between Sagittarius and Scorpio. Vishnu flew to the nether world of demons and evil spirits, down the whirl pool of galactic existence and let out a terrible whinny.  He retrieved the stolen Vedas, the codes of all existence for Brahma’s four heads and eyes to see the universe, thereby saving the universe.

Vishnu wearing the horses head also represents an aspect of his incarnation as Kalki, the tenth avatar. The name Kalki is a metaphor for eternity or time.  The Sanskrit root, “kalka” means mud or foulness and so Kalki means “destroyer of foulness or destroyer of darkness, “as well as“annihilator of ignorance.”

Riding through these woods with Oakland, my 25 year-old gelding and retired racehorse, is meditation. Oakland, in his younger years, ran on tracks in New Mexico. In addition, he survived seasons of trailering a grueling cross-country jump circuit. He’s experienced the worst of human behavior and through it all, has remained gentle and noble. Oakland’s a Guru, teaching what the most gentle and noble gurus teach: how to be more observant, sensitive and compassionate.

Riding a familiar trail in the early morning last spring, Oakland taught me a lesson in awareness. During the depth of winter, we’d ride at noon. With the Sun directly overhead, the winter grey is brightest, tinted toward the extreme. Our rides though chilly, were sedate for the most part. The forest is more still during winter and with a cushion of snow, a greater hush falls.

Winter is a function of the earth’s tilt, angled at its greatest point away from the sun. Summer is the earth tilted toward the sun at its greatest point. The days of greatest tilt toward or away from the sun, is by definition, the summer or winter solstice. Winter solstice is the day with the least amount of light while the summer solstice is the day with the greatest. As the earth’s tilt shifted toward the sun and the light increased with warmer days, Oakland and I were out on the trail by 10 AM.

Danger on the trail

On one of those days last spring, following the same trails we’d ridden throughout the winter, Oakland startled and spooked at every turn. I searched him and myself for what was different. I wondered if he was in pain, if there was something affecting his eyesight. At some point, I understood the need to stop ‘riding’ and see what this horse was seeing. Quietly, I began to look through Oakland’s eyes and this is what I realized.

During the deepest part of our Northwest winter, the daylight is flat. It filters through the atmosphere, through a cloudy film that thinly blankets the trees. This light is homogenous, pasteurized. There is no shadow. This flat light allows one to exist in a dream state, never fully awake. This quazi-dream state is like an 80’s style circular switch that guards a room against either full light or complete darkness. Deep shadow does not exist for the lack of bright light and flaws are never fully exposed.

At the end of winter, moving toward spring, heat builds in the atmosphere. The methodical, ticking shift of the earth’s tilt generates a saturation point. What has remained hidden due to the flattened gray seems to suddenly appear. The fog burns off, clouds disappear, and sunlight streams through the trees at sharp angles, shocking the senses.

On that particular morning, those bright shafts of light fell on the mossy trees, fern and under brush, and by contrast, created weird undulating shadows and inky, dark shapes. To Oakland, these were no tricks of light; they were bears and cougars, lying in wait.

In Vedic philosophy, there is something called the pancaklesa, the five ‘poisons’ or obstacles to enlightenment. The first poison is to misperceive truth and reality, your basic form of ignorance. Oakland’s “ignorance” was to mistake shadows for predators. A reasonable mistake for a prey animal but one a horse and rider can easily remedy. Kind words and a gentle hand will sooth the nervous system. More rides through the same wood while the season stabilizes and the shadows are quickly forgotten. Not so for humans.

“Consciousness” is not a lifestyle

Humans will misperceive and then turn the mistake of consciousness into a life style or a belief system. One of the oldest metaphors used to illustrate this point is when a rope is mistaken for a snake. As a result and from that moment forward, the poor dupe who mistook the rope for a snake now acts as if all ropes are snakes. A better outcome might be to go ahead and grab the rope, ignorant of its true form and then once bitten, not make such a mistake again. Awareness realigned, enlightenment reached. Poison that does not kill us makes us stronger. At any rate, the mistakes in perception, one could say, are those of lighting.

Daily life is continuously subject to a misapprehension or misperception of reality and truth. To perceive clearly requires a quiet stepping back and a withdrawal of our sensory projection.  Observe carefully,  gently and from a neutral position.  Ask questions of ourselves and others about the nature of what we are experiencing.

In other words, how a situation or a thing is appearing, may not provide all the information needed to make a correct or balanced assessment. Judgments and assumptions most often come from not gathering enough information, from a projection of fear, a belief or past experience. Similar to believing all ropes are snakes.

A lesson from the trail

Take a lesson from Guru Oakland like I did that spring day; how we see ourselves, people and situations, change. Spiritual practices rooted in observation, withdrawal of sensory projection and compassion cultivate an internal light that is core to the heart. As the light of the heart brightens, it illuminates the consciousness. As a result, we will see shadows, our mistakes of perception.  We will see where we have confused beliefs for the truth and this is a good thing. Integration of shadow self is fundamental to becoming a healthy and whole human. So when the shadows fall as they will in practice and as the seasons change, act kindly and compassionately. Speak soothing words and gently hold your hands over your heart.   Be glad that you are awake and no longer sleeping.

A few nights ago, I dreamed I was crawling under the legs of a women who was dressed as a mare.  Surrounded by a group of women (who apparently knew exactly what this was all about),  I wiggled on.  My costumed friend, who looking down at me, was just as apprehensive as myself.

A few days earlier, I ran an astrological chart for a mare with health issues.  She had a Kemadruma yoga  in her 9th house Cancer and to keep a long story short, experienced trauma during her  sadisati and current moon dasha cycle. Chloe the mare, had recently been reunited with the first owner.  The problems that led Chloe back to her first owner were also leading to her destruction.  As it was, the sensitive and alert first owner had kept contact so when the recent past owners reached exasperation, Chloe was recovered.

Reading Chloe’s chart was one in a series of events the were quietly aligning and running parallel with recent and current transits. Chloe’s chart was nimitta, foreshadowing a rise and surface of some challenging family history.  In my dream, Chloe the mare was my divine (ninth house) trans-personal ‘good’ mother (Cancer).  She birthed me into a group of smart, powerful women who cheered and applauded when I slid out the other side.

Venus is a karaka for horses and women so through Chloe the mare, Venus communicated things my  physical mother had been apprehensive or simply unable to communicate.  Venus has been transiting my (Virgo) second house of speech, happiness and family of origin and Venus has been in a tight conjunction with Mars and Saturn and in Virgo (where Venus  is classically debilitated).  Venus’s transit through Virgo articulated issues of comfort and love.  My natal Venus is placed in Gemini in the 11th  and exchanges with Mercury in Taurus in the 10th and so by transit Venus in Virgo in the second forms Dhana-raja yoga, canceling the debilitation.  This has been a ‘rich’ Venus transit in Virgo.  One which has brought a wealth of comfort and understanding and one I would not define as weak.

.