Entries by nicoleathena

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Eclipses, Second Chances, and Finding the Spiritual in the Mundane

In the Astrology system, there are 12 signs and houses, broken down into 6 pairs, or opposites. If you are already familiar with the anatomy of a Natal Chart and the concept of pairs or opposites (derived of two signs or two houses), you may want to skip to the next paragraph. If you look […]

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Learning How to Let Go: What Happened When Pluto Met my Sun (and Personal Planets)

I cannot sugarcoat my experience; the following description is intense and true, which are both qualities of the planet we call Pluto. Pluto is the archetype that depicts the underworld, i.e., our demons and deepest fears. Pluto is: traveling to the depth of darkness and despair. Pluto also is: resurfacing renewed and transformed, worlds stronger […]

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What the Heck, Autocorrect? But Thank You for the Spiritual Messages.

This is nothing new, but what the Sam Hill, Autocorrect?! Why do you insist on changing common words in my text threads, like “about,” and “for” to  less used words like “snout,” and “fir?” I don’t think I have ever used the word snout in a text thread, or fir for that matter. That said, […]

Child of Saturn with Saturn Retrograde

I’m a Capricorn, so that makes me a child of Saturn (Saturn rules Capricorn, and co-rules Aquarius). One of my favorite Astrology books is called Ruling Planets by Christopher Renstrom. It has beautiful illustrations — it’s a big book. He devotes a chapter to each Ruling Planet, e.g.,”Child of The Sun,” “Child of the Moon,” […]

4th House Pisces

In my Natal Chart, Pisces is on the cusp of my 4th house, meaning this watery and creative sign flavors this aspect of life. The houses of your natal chart represent different sections of the sky and, on a personal level, your life. The 4th house symbolizes home and family. It also represents emotions and […]

Guest Post by April Meyers: How to Respond When You’ve Been Diagnosed With a Chronic Condition

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with a chronic health condition, you may be feeling overwhelmed. News that you have a long-term illness or disease can be shocking and disorienting for anyone, and it’s essential to process your thoughts and emotions while giving yourself grace along the way. Once you begin to cope with your diagnosis, […]

Mercury & Venus in Deep Scorpio

As you know, from my last blog post Mercury was rewinding through Sagittarius, which rules faith, optimism, and the ability to see the bigger picture and opportunities. As of Saturday, December 1st, Mercury Rx has shifted into the deep Scorpio waters, and will toggle back into Sagittarius on Thursday, December 13th. Mercury Rx is a […]

Mercury Retrograde: Here We Go Again (General Insight Plus What to Know in November/December 2018)

Mercury is the planet of communication and learning: it, essentially, represents the thinking mind (among a few other areas, such as your vehicle or mode of transportation, local travel, neighborhood, siblings and relatives). In your Natal Chart, Mercury resides in a sign and a “house” and this gives you insight into how you learn, take […]

Mars Retrograde

Mars is taking a long and uncharacteristic summer nap. The MARS RETROGRADE period officially began on June 26th, however you may have felt it’s impending reversal as early as May, when the “shadow” period began. In December I began a new job and moved to a new apartment, so I have been regimented with my […]

Venus in Pisces February 2018

Venus symbolizes love, beauty, and money/earned income. It reflects how you relate to others and your environment, and also how you see yourself through another’s eyes.   When Venus moves into Pisces (the unseen realms of life; the divine) we see the world in full color. There is so much more to this vast, mysterious […]

Sun (in Aquarius) Square Jupiter (in Scorpio)

Jupiter in Scorpio is squaring the Sun in Aquarius today until February 11th. What does this mean? I will break this down into its parts and then give you an overall idea of how this energy may play out in your life. Jupiter represents a bigger than life energy; it’s jubilant, carefree, brimming with ideas […]

Ayurveda Practices for Staying in Balance

Ayurveda translates to the Wisdom of Life. I like this definition because it reflects the truth that wellness and health cannot be separated from the larger whole. Our bodies and beings are intrinsically connected to our environment, to the larger whole: what is outside of us is also within us.  Ayurveda philosophy is rooted in […]

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When Transiting Venus Conjuncts Your Natal Chiron, Hidden Gifts, and Dharma

A few days ago, I had an exact conjunction between Venus in the sky and my natal Chiron. I didn’t realize it until I checked my Transit Chart halfway through that day, thinking to myself what the heck is going on with me today?  It started with a wayward paycheck. I sent a third email to […]

Truth-Day Tuesday

I am not trying to be all scrooge-y … well, a little I am … but I was thinking that along with Facebook’s ubiquitous “Throwback Thursday,” or TBT, we should begin a Truth-day Tuesday revolution: a day of sharing what’s really happening in your life, i.e., “I just had a hideous argument with my significant […]

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On the Inside

Lately, I’ve been pondering speech patterns we develop over time (analyzer that I am) and what they reflect about our inner workings, specifically my mother’s relationship with the word “inside” (I’m sure she’d be thrilled). For example, in response to a question about where something is located, like “Where is the cat?” my mother might […]

Namaste, Saint James

I was recently mesmerized by the charming voice of prison inmate, Saint James Harris Wood in a series of letters he wrote, over a 10-year period, to The Sun Manuscript Editor, Colleen Donfield. The letters were published in the February 2015 issue of The Sun, entitled Your Wretched Correspondent. Wood, Donfield relays, is serving a […]

Some Days are Just Like That

Yesterday afternoon I walked in Rockefeller State Park. Blue sky. Soft breeze. Birds singing. Sun shining. It felt like the first official day of Spring … but my thoughts were not cooperating: they were spinning self-defeating little webs. No matter what I did (yoga practice, walking in nature) I could not find the off switch for […]

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Restore

Restorative Yoga is one of my favorite classes to teach and this amazes me. I am a Vata girl to the max. The Eastern Medicine system of Ayurveda posits that we are born with usually one or two doshas (body types), dominant. My dominant dosha is Vata, or the air element. Vata people need to […]

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Messages From Your Angels

A few months ago, my close friend’s grandmother, Gigi, died. This friend is like family–we’ve known one another since 2nd grade; my mom and her mom, M., are also longtime buddies, like sisters. My mom was helping M. clean out her mother’s home when they came across a box of Angel cards: “Messages from your […]

“We clean our wounds there.”

“The paradoxes of life are all there in the sea. The ocean is often referred to as feminine, but the weaves arrive in a masculine surge. As soon as they reach the full extent of their masculine expression, they shape themselves into a tube, a womb. . . . There are tempests and dark depths. […]

One Word in Front of the Other

Here I am showing up to my practice. This is not easy for me; my writing practice has been ruled by inspiration and inspiration alone, which comes and goes like the wind or ever-changing moon, and so it has been a spotty practice. A wildly erratic practice, in fact. Making this commitment to write each […]