January 2004 Celestial Timings
Carolyn Brent
The Recovering Hero Proclamation
I have no need to save others.
I have no need to rescue others.
I have no need to outshine anyone.
I have no need to out-think, out-perform, out-produce anyone - including myself.
I do not need to know anything.
I do not need to be an expert.
I do not need to fix anyone, or any change anything.
I do not need to dazzle, impress, or inspire anyone.
I do not need to be the hero of my own story.
In truth, I am organic, evolving, and fallible.
I allow things to unfold naturally, and I trust the flow.
I joyfully accept and experience my humanity.
I need nothing.
All already is.
Blessed be.
~Aaliyah LivingWell
aka Gina Dawn Gavaris
GeneratingLove@aol.com
I am thrilled to share this Recovering Hero Proclamation by Aaliyah LivingWell who is one of my dearest heart and soul sisters. This Recovering Hero concept is another way to look at "addicted doing" and to start the New Year with an awareness of this possibility. Aaliyah has also courageously shared the following journal entry that expresses her process around becoming conscious of the addicted hero archetype. I personally found this helpful having lived both Hero and Victim experiences. I am also getting that a Recovering Victim Proclamation could be very useful. If anyone feels inspired to create this and would like share it, let me know!
Consistently, over time, I was held up as "the Expert" and "the Brilliant One," the one who all could count on to succeed, come through, dazzle, impress, inspire, motivate. Also, over time, the ability to see me as Human - an evolving, growing, changing being who has good days and bad days, who is unsure and unreliable at times, who gets angry and who doesn't know the answer - became less and less. Anything less than magnificent accomplishments or an inspiring, animated personal charm disappointed others. Without my dazzling Brilliance, others wouldn't take so keen an interest in me. They seemed to enjoy the lightness they would feel, as if somehow they could feel good about themselves by aligning through me and my work. Pretty soon, my need to be brilliant matched the expectation that I was so. I internalized the unhealthy need to be unchangingly brilliant when mingling with others, and I internalized the neglect of my own humanity. My life became a dichotomous split between brilliantly charming in public, and self-hating in private. I felt steady pressure to match my former performances, and had no idea how to embrace my own humanity or ask others to do so.
I found such a life to foster alienation, a feeling of continual failure, exhaustion, emptiness, and self-loathing. Sometimes, when shining in public, I found such a life to foster admiration, respect, pride, mythological proportions, power. I felt disembodied from myself. Sometimes enjoying that I was sought after and "important," and sometimes, I would reflect on my "Herculean efforts" and wonder what was I doing this all for? The dilemma seemed only to be inside myself, for all the while, as long as I was making others feel comfortable by accepting the projection of their hopes and dreams and possibilities, my real needs were ignored. I couldn't even see them.
The Special, Brilliant person held up larger than Life has a similar energetic experience as the Wounded Victim trodden by Life. One receives the projections of light and hopefulness, the other receives the projections of dark and hopelessness and fear. Neither, however, allow for humanness - neither allow for flexibility or creativity or humility or the fluid combination of hope and fear that are intertwined. Neither allow for others to accept responsibility for their own projections, and face their desires to live large or face their hurting places. In truth, being Special is the flip side of being Victim. I am neither Special nor Victim. I simply am Human - a changing evolving being who joins the billions of others on this planet in the lonely quest for meaning and purpose. Please do not ask me to carry your light or your dark. I have my own, and, what's more, I choose to simply live. To allow my life to unfold - devoid of strategies and strivings. I allow myself to be Organic, and Evolving, and I discover me in each moment. I know I am one of many, and it is the whole that matters. I know that I am one of many, and my uniqueness is worthy of discovery and attention and care - along with yours. So, I have no need to be a hero. I have no need to carry others. I have no need for my part to be more brilliant or influential than others. So please do not ask me to hold your light, or your guilt, or your fear that somehow you are not brilliant enough yourself. I am simply me. I show up. And when I do, I am here also to simply witness you.
~Aaliyah 7/29/03 New Moon in Leo
January Sky
The Earth makes its annual closest approach to the Sun the source of light and life for our planet on Jan 4, 2004. Venus brightens the sky just after Sunset and outshines Mars in the evening sky as they move closer and closer to their springtime dance together. The crescent Moon passes nearby Venus (above and to the left) on the evening of 24th and passes by Mars on Jan 27th. On Jan 6th the waxing nearly full Moon is near Saturn rising in the NE just after Sunset. Retrograde Saturn is near its brightest appearance having made its annual closest approach to Earth on December 31st and is brighter than usual because from our Earth-based position we are seeing the rings of Saturn from a view that is more expanded or open than usual adding to the brightness of Saturn's appearance. Saturn is still retrograde until March 8 and is retracing its steps back to the feet of the Twins (Castor and Pollux) located inside the Sacred Hoop. Jupiter in the sign of Virgo is rising late evening around 10:30 as January begins located in the constellation of the Lion. (See Difference between Signs and Constellations) Mercury begins the year retrograde visible in the early morning sky just before dawn goes direct on January 6 and reaches its greatest Morning star elongation of 24 degrees from the Sun on Jan 17.
Jan 1, Thursday. HAPPY NEW YEAR! The New Year begins with the Moon in Taurus and a great reminder to begin the year with gratitude for all the gifts of life we receive everyday. Today Mars (10 Aries) squares Saturn (10 Cancer) and the Sun (11 Capricorn). (See Jan 2)
Around mid-night local time on New Year's Eve the triple star Sirius (the brightest fixed star in our sky) is found directly overhead on the mid-heaven infusing the earth with this starry energy. Freya Owlsdottir shares this info about Sirius.The Sirius system is directly "upstream" of our solar system within the galactic arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. Because of this, we now know that the polarized energies of Sirius do indeed wash over us... By coming directly towards us, Sirius creates an axis of rotation with Earth relative to the stellar background. Because of this, of all the stars in the sky, only the annual heliacal rising (meaning its visible rising just before the Sun) of Sirius exactly matches the length of our solar year, 365.25 days.
Even today, unbeknownst to most of the people of the world, our New Years Eve celebration is a continuation of a most ancient ritual honoring the return of Sirius to the midheaven position at midnight. Occurring down through the ages around January 1st, this midnight alignment marks the moment when the energies of Sirius, directly overhead, most closely touch our lives in her most singular purity. For countless thousands of years and all around the world, without knowing the hidden reason, we have marked this midnight moment by jumping for joy as the rush of this vital connection surges through us. More on Sirius from Freya's website
Jan 2, Friday. Yesterday was the exact Mars (10 Aries) square Saturn (10 Cancer), with the Sun (11 Capricorn) in close opposition to Saturn and squaring Mars. This t-square has been active for the past couple of days facilitating an important opportunity for taking committed decisive action that further formulates healthy family and community structures based in the emerging paradigm of cooperation as the basis for action rather than the outmoded and ineffective cultural program that suggests competition is the only way to survive. Paradigm shifts are usually initially uncomfortable as we are challenged with finding new forms of action that facilitate new ways of experiencing ourselves within new unfamiliar structures.
Jan 3, Saturday. Jupiter (19 Virgo) stations retrograde at 3:57 pm PST reaching a Still Point. (see Intro and April 3 in the April 2003 archives) Retrogrades are similar to the act of pulling the arrow back on the bow. The arrow is moving away from the target, but gathering power and momentum to move more purposefully and directly towards its goal. Jupiter in Virgo retrograde is a time to deeply attune to your inner rhythms, honoring the patterning of Spider Woman, who weaves this web, or matrix, and when skillfully woven, she then waits and all that is needed comes to her. Jupiter remains retrograde until May 4 providing us with a timing for asking, "what within my own web no longer serves me and how can I reweave my web in a way that does serve and support me in fully living my emerging sacred expression?" Moon moves into Gemini this morning. (See Jan 4.)
Jan 4, Sunday. Today marks the Earth's annual closest approach to the Sun (perihelion), the source of light and life for our planet. Yesterday the Moon moved into Gemini energizing the mysteries of the Heyokah, Coyote, Contrary, Shapeshifter, Magician going beyond the confines of our dualistic reality. These words from the Bhagavad Gita help us to understand that place beyond duality.
"Content with getting what arrives of itself
Passed beyond the pairs, free from envy,
Not attached to success nor failure,
Even acting, s/he is not bound.
S/He is to be recognized as eternally free
Who neither loathes nor craves;
For s/he that is freed from the pairs,
Is easily freed from conflict."
- The Bhagavad
Said another way. total acceptance of self and of all that life IS without judgment, or resistance, or a need to fix it or make it be different than what is liberates us from the limiting experience of duality including the concepts of good or bad, right or wrong, success or failure.
This is the place of total freedom.
More January Sky Dates HERE