Aug

5

Eclipse Season

Filed Under Fool's Journey, eclipse, new moon | 3 Comments


We’ve now officially entered the eclipse season. I have to say, there’s something about the sound of “eclipse season” that I just love. It sounds like the “opera season” or the “fall season”, but it packs a much more walloping punch…


So, how have I spent my eclipse season so far? Well, interestingly enough, the day of the New Moon eclipse in Leo, I found myself headed up to Sonoma to plan the Fool’s Journey retreat and restorative, which I will be teaching at this September (25-28th to be exact).

I had some small feelings of trepidation because the eclipse was falling on my 11th /5th house axis, spotlighting the polarity between groups and community and individual expression. The same themes as the Leo/Aquarius eclipse season theme, only opposite, since I have Libra rising. I was nervous because I was going to be planning a group activity with a group. Would this great team of teachers suddenly and surprisingly devolve into a band of raving lunatics? Would I become an ego-filled maniac, demanding that my creative dreams shape the structure of our Fool’s Journey camp? How would the surprising and unexpected nature of this eclipse play out on our weekend away to plan, play and connect?

So, as you might have gathered by now, I was in fact caught quite by surprise. This wasn’t the kind of knock your socks off, leave your job, partner, home, mind kind of surprise, rather it was that more sweetly, slowly, dawning pleasure kind of surprise that snuck up just at the edge of my awareness, until suddenly it was there.
As we planned the evening rituals, I put in a bid for an astrological theme to help shape our Saturday night plan. This idea was met with an outpouring of such enthusiasm and co-creating pleasure by my fellow fools, that the resulting ritual plan left me reeling with the understanding that this was a part of my eclipse lesson.
The ritual plan we came up with provided me with a way to offer up my own unique talents and abilities (Aquarius Moon in the 5th house), and helped me to offer them in service to the community and group in a form that would involve expression and sacred drama (Leo house cusp in the 11th house).


What a neat and non-scary way to live out the eclipse energies. Now if only I can navigate the upcoming Aquarius eclipse on August 16th (which is happening smack-on conjunct my moon), with similar style and pizzazz. How I love the strange and beautiful way the stars tell the story of our lives…..

Mar

26

Divination Day for A Fool’s Journey

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With four planets in the 12th house of retreat and respite, Libra rising, and Venus in Cancer in the 10th house, I have something of a reputation amongst my friends as being an expert on places and spaces to indulge the senses while taking a break from the “real” world.

Maybe this is why I’m so excited about the upcoming Fool’s Journey retreat this Fall in Northern California, which is turning out to be a magical mystical journey already, though the retreat doesn’t even start until September.

Taking inspiration from the Fool card in the tarot, myself and my co-creators envision this workshop as a time to take a leap into the world of magic, delving more deeply into myth and mystery, guided by a group of long-time teachers and priestesses. Like the sign of Aries, the Fool card is the embodiment of open-hearted creative risk-taking, passion and serendipity.

We envision this as a retreat from the world, but also a time to indulge the senses in the spirit of deep relaxation and the kind of sacred fun the Fool loves best.

Our Fool’s Journey planning group just happened to make it’s first site visit to Four Springs retreat center just days after the Spring Equinox was exact, when the Sun moved fully into Aries. At Four Springs we found a space simply designed to catalyze the Aries Fool in almost anyone.

From the endless possibilities for creative self-expression alive in the art room (fun, fun, fun!), the meditation hall (yoga classes!) and the mystical library (freewrites galore), to the hiking trails (for your inner Aries) and swimming pool (Marco Polo anyone?), this land seemed designed for the kind of retreat we are offering.

Harbin Hot Springs is also a ten minute drive away, for those who like hot springs……

This Sunday, we will be invoking the spirit of the sacred Fool at our Divination Day benefit to raise money to support the Fool’s Journey retreat.

Participants will have the opportunity to get an intuitive reading (offered at the very reasonable $1-2 a minute sliding scale) from any one of our talented team (see A Fool’s Journey for bio’s), try a magical elixir, or simply come and meet us and find about more about this retreat.