04/01/2016 - 05/01/2016 | The Mystic Review With Barbara Graver

It is Not Too Later for Bernie and it is Not Too Late for Us!

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PEQBA_SU7wY/Vx4P-pQQMzI/AAAAAAAAEAU/IbJNAN0WGoUrVLKIxjhwbmH1ZQWMr39-QCLcB/s1600/berniesanders-scranton-pennsylvania-townmeeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PEQBA_SU7wY/Vx4P-pQQMzI/AAAAAAAAEAU/IbJNAN0WGoUrVLKIxjhwbmH1ZQWMr39-QCLcB/s320/berniesanders-scranton-pennsylvania-townmeeting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thursday Rally - Photo by Andrew Bernoski</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On April 21st I heard Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders speak.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Addressing a capacity crowd at the Scranton PA Cultural Center, Bernie Sanders talked, not about himself, but about where he stood on issue after issue. <br />
<br />
And every one of his ideas seemed infinitely reasonable.  So reasonable in fact that many of them are already in effect in progressive countries all over the world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the heart of Bernie Sanders' message is the idea that our system is fundamentally unfair. That the wealthy (much less than) 1% influence lawmaking through a corrupt campaign finance system.  And that this influence is much more serious than it sounds.<br />
<br />
Because the wealthy make the laws we have corporate bailouts, the outsourcing of jobs, a shrinking middle class, and an economy that places the burden of supplying food stamps and medical care to the employees of some of the richest people in the world on ordinary taxpayers like you and me.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last night, making calls for Bernie, I spoke to a 91 year old man who told me that we need the rich, that they create jobs, and that we couldn't get by without them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sadly many people do have the idea that Bernie Sanders wants to redistribute wealth which is just not the case.  What he does want to do is make families like the Walton's (the owners of Walmart and the richest family in the US) use their profits to pay their employees a living wage.  What he does want is for all young people to be able to go to college.  To RAISE Social Security.  To stop providing unfair advantages to the wealthy who simply do not need - or deserve - our support.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bernie Sanders has consistently voted against disastrous trade agreements, fracking, unjust wars and corporate welfare.  All things that were supported by Hillary Clinton.  All things that no so coincidentally help the rich get richer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hillary is all over the media.  In subtle, and not so subtle, attempts at brainwashing we know what kind of books she reads, what sort of exercise she does or doesn't do, and what her favorite snack foods are. I don't know any of those things about Bernie - but I do know that Hillary Clinton is not my friend.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And the good news is, that while an elderly gentleman from central PA, may not see through this millions of young people do.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last Thursday afternoon, surrounded by enthusiastic young people (some of whom were still too young to vote) I felt better about the future of our country than I have in a very long time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a card reader, I often tell people that the truth is fluid, that it changes minute by minute and beat by beat.  Just by sitting down for this reading, I say, you have changed the future.  And with every phone call we make, every door we knock on, we have changed it too.<br />
<br />
The truth is that none of us knows what will come of tomorrow's primary or the one after that - and that includes media. Don't let them tell you what kind of future you can have!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And before you vote, please do your homework on Hillary Clinton or see my post "<a href="http://www.mysticreview.com/2016/04/why-bernie-sanders-means-more-to-me.html" target="_blank">Why I Support Bernie Sanders</a>."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To make calls for Bernie visit <a href="https://go.berniesanders.com/page/content/phonebank" target="_blank">BernieSanders.com/PhoneBank</a>  It isn't too late until we let it be so!</div>

It is Not Too Later for Bernie and it is Not Too Late for Us!

Thursday Rally - Photo by Andrew Bernoski On April 21st I heard Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders speak. Addressing a...

Four Ways to Enjoy Tonight's Full Moon in Scorpio!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGtMuACv1AM/VxlPhSgqp5I/AAAAAAAAEAE/K4xhFo59344xVIvVnfUlOMYE1wGcOtwtwCLcB/s1600/bluemoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGtMuACv1AM/VxlPhSgqp5I/AAAAAAAAEAE/K4xhFo59344xVIvVnfUlOMYE1wGcOtwtwCLcB/s1600/bluemoon.jpg" /></a></div>
The Full Moon in Scorpio occurs at 1:24 AM ET tonight. This is a very powerful and potentially transformative moon and while I don't have time for an in depth article, I did want to make sure that nobody missed it </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Scorpio is a deep, intuitive sign making this the perfect time for divination, journaling, inner work, transformational magic and the releasing of anything which no longer serves!<br />
<br />
A few ideas on how to best enjoy this beautiful energy!<br />
<ul>
<li>Light a deep blue candle and journal.</li>
<li>Take a detoxifying salt water (candle-lit) bath.</li>
<li>Journal outside by moon light.</li>
<li>Do a card reading asking what you might release.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />

Four Ways to Enjoy Tonight's Full Moon in Scorpio!

The Full Moon in Scorpio occurs at 1:24 AM ET tonight. This is a very powerful and potentially transformative moon and while I don'...

Dreaming of Iron & "The Magic of the Iron Pentacle" (Review)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UpnsdRT1_1g/VxPsGo14j6I/AAAAAAAAAHs/aX2mkwM1HuQA-neKraPRHpQan76m32w-QCLcB/s1600/MG_1Coins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UpnsdRT1_1g/VxPsGo14j6I/AAAAAAAAAHs/aX2mkwM1HuQA-neKraPRHpQan76m32w-QCLcB/s320/MG_1Coins.jpg" width="187" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
There are some dreams that are so big and so bright that you know they're going to change your life. And there are some that are ordinary. <br />
<br />
The iron pentacle dream was the ordinary sort - so ordinary in fact that I didn't even really explore it. At least not until I came across the book. But let's backtrack. <br />
<br />
Dream first.<br />
<br />
I was outside. It was spring and I was digging in the soft, dark, crumbly earth as I have done many times on many different projects. But this earth seemed unusually rich. And when my shovel hit something hard, the thing that I pulled out of the ground wasn't a stone or an old brick but a round metal disk about eight or nine inches across.<br />
<br />
I saw that the disc was iron and that it had a raised design of a circle enclosing a five pointed, line-work star.  ‘How odd,’ I thought, ‘an iron pentacle’.<br />
<br />
I woke up and wrote down the dream. <i>Digging. Rich earth. Iron pentacle.</i> And then I forgot it. Or would have forgotten it. If not for the book.<br />
<br />
I found the book a few days later on the Llewellyn review list. I had seen it before but felt sure that it wasn’t for me. Given the dream, however, I decided to check it out.<br />
<br />
The book was called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738746746/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0738746746&linkCode=as2&tag=themysrev-20&linkId=4XDLGBIXRQ7YXFDZ" target="_blank">The Magic of the Iron Pentacle</a>." It was written by Jane Meredith and Gede Parma, and the Iron Pentacle they were talking about was a “magical tool of experiential spirituality." My kind of spirituality exactly.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9hVvpWkTI7Q/VxTIjpZKleI/AAAAAAAAAH8/bzRpS1QL7wYrbXd3SCFplCOwUMt_Ff6mACLcB/s1600/davincipentagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9hVvpWkTI7Q/VxTIjpZKleI/AAAAAAAAAH8/bzRpS1QL7wYrbXd3SCFplCOwUMt_Ff6mACLcB/s200/davincipentagram.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was beginning to suspect that the pentacle from my dream was multiple things - a symbol, a sign and, in this case, a practice. The practice consisted of a magical construct (the pentacle) and an experiential method taught by two contemporary, but connected, traditions of witchcraft - Anderson Feri and the Reclaiming Tradition.<br />
<br />
The construct was created, or channeled, by Victor Anderson, the founder of Feri, as a form of energy work.<br />
<br />
In this work the five points of the Iron Pentacle align with five points on the human body. For each point there is an associated concept. <br />
<br />
The points are identified as head, right foot, left hand, right hand, and left foot. The associated concepts are sex, pride, self, power and passion. The associations seemed odd to me at first but they began to make sense as I worked with the material and practices provided.<br />
<br />
In working with the point one practices (head / sex), I came to appreciate how issues surrounding sex had influenced my thinking on multiple levels, affecting my self-esteem and ability to express myself.<br />
<br />
As I explored the point two practices (right foot / pride), I realized that the concept of pride (presented here as the “right-sized” sort of pride that helps others to see us for who we really are) had some direct applications to my professional life. It also was very much connected to point one.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tYuMgis7v2U/VxYm1TVWW9I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/XEkv5WDdZ6Qg4vFqyPtOrurFHqsEsleLgCLcB/s1600/magicofironpentacle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tYuMgis7v2U/VxYm1TVWW9I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/XEkv5WDdZ6Qg4vFqyPtOrurFHqsEsleLgCLcB/s200/magicofironpentacle.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738746746/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0738746746&linkCode=as2&tag=themysrev-20&linkId=RUJYVMD7NNMQWQND" target="_blank">Order on Amazon! </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My approach to the book has been to read it through first and then go back and work with the practices. Because of this I am just beginning to work with point three. But I will be continuing through all five points.<br />
<br />
“<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738746746/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0738746746&linkCode=as2&tag=themysrev-20&linkId=4XDLGBIXRQ7YXFDZ" target="_blank">The Magic of the Iron Pentacle</a>” isn’t only about the Iron Pentacle practices I've mentioned here, of course. It also includes some lovely spells, rituals and related activities -  including basic practices of the Craft (grounding, centering and circle casting), the alignment of the three souls, as taught in the Feri and Reclaiming traditions, and more.<br />
<br />
As a reader, I especially appreciated the moving, and sometimes poetic, accounts of the authors’ personal experience and spiritual growth. That they have worked this process and benefited from it is obvious – as well as encouraging.<br />
<br />
But did the iron pentacle dream lead me to this book specifically?<br />
<br />
I think that it did, but like all gifts of spirit it led to other places as well. <br />
<br />
Because of the dream I feel that I now have a better approach to tarot as a profession, a clearer understanding of where I fit in terms of the Craft, a more focused attitude toward my current full-length book project, and more experiential approach to the practice of magic.<br />
<br />
And when it came to the magic "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738746746/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0738746746&linkCode=as2&tag=themysrev-20&linkId=4XDLGBIXRQ7YXFDZ" target="_blank">The Magic of the Iron Pentacle</a>" was key.  I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in practical witchcraft, inner work, or transformational magic!<br />
<br /></div>

Dreaming of Iron & "The Magic of the Iron Pentacle" (Review)

There are some dreams that are so big and so bright that you know they're going to change your life. And there are some that are ordi...

Meet Me at the Inner Peace Spring Expo in Wilkes-Barre PA!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WgpCHcHm0gw/VxUvnxwKOEI/AAAAAAAAAJI/uuLafHwlCRs3oY2NBaKfgixKEW1d1z82QCLcB/s1600/Innerpeacepsychicfair.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WgpCHcHm0gw/VxUvnxwKOEI/AAAAAAAAAJI/uuLafHwlCRs3oY2NBaKfgixKEW1d1z82QCLcB/s320/Innerpeacepsychicfair.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">I'll be at the Inner Peace Spring Expo tomorrow from 10AM to 6PM.  My event prices are $20 for a 20 Minute Celtic Cross Reading and $10 for a 10 Minute 4 Card Mini Reading. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'll also have some beautiful Lapis Lazuli Pendulums, gently used books and decks, hand-made gemstone bracelets, and at least one hand decoupaged tarot box for sale.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stop by for a reading or just to say hi!<br />
<br />
To learn more about my home and phone readings (which are very reasonably priced) please visit my website <a href="http://www.readingsbybarbara.com/" target="_blank">ReadingsByBarbara.com</a>.  To get a free on-air reading any Sunday (I don't have an event) please call (929) 477-3771 at 1PM ET and select "talk to the host."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yvI_YS6Cmy8/VwlMqzP0O0I/AAAAAAAAD_c/kLJHuXmeH1gQkYwzUT0LbSR3S0K8DbUrw/s1600/pendulum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yvI_YS6Cmy8/VwlMqzP0O0I/AAAAAAAAD_c/kLJHuXmeH1gQkYwzUT0LbSR3S0K8DbUrw/s640/pendulum.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Hand-made Copper and Lapis Pendulums</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
*For more on our pendulums please see the following post <a href="http://www.mysticreview.com/2014/02/the-spirit-pendulum-wire-work-lapis.html" target="_blank">The Spirit Pendulum</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>

Meet Me at the Inner Peace Spring Expo in Wilkes-Barre PA!

I'll be at the Inner Peace Spring Expo tomorrow from 10AM to 6PM. My event prices are $20 for a 20 Minute Celtic Cross Reading an...

Why I Support Bernie Sanders!

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yzAgEOj2EAQ/VweZTYVjLnI/AAAAAAAAD-g/gBSKVCRZYH8nFCN5arJU7z9NlS1WhQ-IQ/s1600/Bernie_Sanders_Arrested_1963_Chicago_Tribune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yzAgEOj2EAQ/VweZTYVjLnI/AAAAAAAAD-g/gBSKVCRZYH8nFCN5arJU7z9NlS1WhQ-IQ/s320/Bernie_Sanders_Arrested_1963_Chicago_Tribune.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Civil Rights Protester Bernie Sanders 1963</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have never been political here.  At least not really I-support-this-candidate kind of political but now, in this  democratic  primary, I feel I have to be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I used to believe that presidential primaries were the process that told us which candidate was most likely to win. But thanks to a couple of aha moments during this primary, I've realized that isn't what primaries are meant for at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My first aha concerned the media.  </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To me the mainstream media has always seemed skewed.  I couldn't help noticing, for example, how hard the media tried to rally war support after 9/11 or how they've failed to expose the atrocities of the meat and dairy industry or cover key freedom of speech issues like Net Neutrality or Ag-Gag, but I didn't pay a whole lot of attention really to what they were (or weren't) saying until this presidential primary.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The media has been telling us that Bernie Sanders can't win since day one. We have been told that over and over.  We have been told it overtly.  We have been told it subtly, through back-handed complements and innuendo.  We were told it before anyone had any idea what Bernie was capable of and we are told it now in the face of gathering momentum and repeated victories.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My aha moment came when I realized that this is full-out propaganda.  If you listen carefully you will realize it too. You'll realize it when you notice how the media is spinning things, minimizing every win and telling us over and over again that Bernie can't win.  If we buy in to this we are participating in, as Sarah Silverman says, in her surprisingly lovely youtube on Bernie, "what my shrink would call a self-fulfilling prophecy."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My second aha was about the Democratic party and our political structure as a whole.<br />
<br />
I have been a vote-the-party-line Democrat since the day I turned 18 and I expected to always be that. But when I saw how hard the party was working to push Hillary through, I knew that I would not and could not vote for a candidate chosen by the Democratic powers that be. <br />
<br />
I simply do not accept a super-delegate system that takes the power to choose out of the hands of Democratic voters and puts it firmly under the control of what is essentially the party itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This isn't democracy.  And this is something that should concern you no matter who you support.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But why does it matter which candidate our party provides as long as that candidate is a Democrat?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li>It matters because Bernie Sanders isn't, as you probably already know, aligned with big business. But, while everyone has heard this, not everyone realizes just how important it is.  Bernie doesn't owe big business because he does not have a Super PAC.  His money comes from people like me who contribute 15 or 27 dollars out every check whether they can afford it or not.</li>
<li>It matters because if ordinary people put Bernie into the white house, ordinary people are the people he owes.  Not frackers or Monsanto or Wall Street or the people who apparently control the media or make billions of dollars on ill-conceived wars.  </li>
<li>It matters because Bernie has years (and years) in congress introducing important bills and being on the right side of almost every major decision.  Even when those decisions were very unpopular.</li>
<li>It matters because Bernie is a humanist who opposes a system that makes life easier and easier for the rich by taking more and more away from ordinary people like you and me. </li>
<li>It matters because Bernie Sanders is the real deal.  A person who wants to be president because he wants to make this world a better place. And his record highlights this every step of the way.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The differences between Hillary and Bernie are not coincidental.  And, to me, these differences mean that our party and maybe even our country isn't really what the people who are running things want us to perceive it to be.  </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a result, I am no longer a tow the party line Democrat.  But I did learn something from the days when I was.  </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I canvassed for Barack Obama in the rain and the snow and the dark in 2008 and I was our local canvas coordinator in 2012. Working with the party in 2012 taught me a lot but it was 2008 that taught me the most.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I remember sitting on the floor of the hallway of our local Democratic Headquarters in the final minutes of the 2008 presidential election.  I was working from my list of supporters, making as many phone calls as I could before the polls closed. Telling people that they did not need ID. And that if they were in line they could not be turned away. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I remember sitting there in that hallway and suddenly knowing that this was a moment I would never forget.  I remember the energy and the feeling and the idea that WE could change the world.  I remember doing that.  And I know that it is possible.<br />
<br />
So let's make it happen.<br />
<br />
Visit <a href="http://feelthebern.org/" target="_blank">FeelTheBern.org</a> to learn how you can make a difference!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>

Why I Support Bernie Sanders!

Civil Rights Protester Bernie Sanders 1963 I have never been political here. At least not really I-support-this-candidate kind of poli...

The Astrology of April 2016: The Sun and the Moon

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fuu0Y9Pt27g/VwJFinlA-0I/AAAAAAAAD-M/jKE3HDp3ax4Ioxx9eVQbyfQCVk1NM7tSA/s1600/sun-moon-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fuu0Y9Pt27g/VwJFinlA-0I/AAAAAAAAD-M/jKE3HDp3ax4Ioxx9eVQbyfQCVk1NM7tSA/s320/sun-moon-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This morning, in Northeast PA, there is snow on the ground and the wind gusting over our mountain is cold.  But the sun is bright - that special early morning Sunday in Spring kind of bright that carries the energy of fresh starts and new beginning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I took a look at the astrology of this month's Sun and the Moon in order to better understand how to harness that energy and I wanted to share my takeaway here.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The April Sun:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Sun is the sign of Aries until the 19th and Aries is fierce warrior kind of sign, full of passion and courage.  Its fiery energy may burn out at some point during the long haul but the momentum does carry.  And that's a good thing because if your Spring is anything like mine - you've got a lot to do!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For me, last week (and the week before) was devoted to cutting hedges and clearing.  Yesterday we built a big flower box, intended to anchor the fence which has been steadily but significantly shifting in the mountain wind.  Working outside in that wind yesterday afternoon and into the evening wasn't fun but I did feel that I was channeling some much needed Aries energy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When Sun will enters Taurus on the 19th, that energy may shift.  We may find a little harder to start</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
new projects, but those that are in progress should fall into a pleasant and sometimes more efficient rhythm.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The April  Moon:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This month's New Moon in Aries occurs on the 7th, then quickly slips into Taurus. Making this a great time to plan our long-term home or work or creative projects and then set those things in motion - combining Aries momentum with the stamina of Taurus.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Full Moon is on the 22nd in my rising sign of Scorpio and this is always a very special Moon for me.  Scorpio, like its original symbol the Phoenix, is the essence of change - something that is reinforced by the retrograde energy of both Saturn and Pluto - which are both in effect at the time of this Full Moon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So over the next couple of weeks, I'll be doing a lot of journaling (and card reading) to identify the goals I want to set and the things I want to transform with the help of the coming Full Moon!</div>

The Astrology of April 2016: The Sun and the Moon

This morning, in Northeast PA, there is snow on the ground and the wind gusting over our mountain is cold. But the sun is bright - that ...