2017: Radical Virgo Vision in Action

Article © 2016 by Joyce Mason

  

We are all interconnected. Thanks to the Internet, which even has “inter” in its name, most of us have experienced that people the world over are much more alike than different. We all want the same basics: love, safety, shelter, food on the table, the opportunity to make enough money to meet our needs and meaningful work. The freedom to see the world in our own way (religion, philosophy) and to be the masters of our own destiny.

For three decades, astrology has helped me understand myself, others and the amazing interconnection we share. A good dose of Neptune has helped me see that Oneness, even while a Uranus-tinged Sun has helped me appreciate our differences. Pluto has refined me in the fires of the Underworld. Chiron has saved me with the promise that healing comes from carrying on the mission to help others—that this mission, indeed, is salvation and wholeness itself. In the healer-healee dynamic, both are lifted up. A bit of Heaven comes down to Earth every time someone breaks through pain, being stuck or feeling disowned by himself, herself or others. After all, if we are each other, healing can only be a two-way street.

Karmic Connections

Life has been very dramatic in illustrating karmic connections to me. Synchronicity is as ordinary as dawn in my days. How that applies between us: I can assume that readers attracted to this blog have some level of need for its message because they’re drawn to it. It also means that the things I go through and feel compelled to share are, at some level, things you are likely to benefit from. Here’s hoping that many of you will resonate to where I’m headed with The Radical Virgo in the future.

New Directions

As I share in my article, Your Relationship with Astrology, my own star trek changes over time. At present, I’m in a place where I’m a backseat, eternal astrology student, not on the front lines of teaching and consulting. This feels wonderful—the right place for me now. It reflects how astrology will always be part of my understanding of the universe and how it ticks. One thing I doubt I’ll ever be able to resist? Writing about astrology.

Astrology’s changing role for me has to do with shifts in my life that occupy most of my time. (See Pluto: The Cosmic Reset Button.) But there’s another, even bigger reason. Astrology has taken me to levels of deep understanding about life, but it begs a next step—how to take action to make my own life (and all of ours) better. Astrology is very Mercurial and its oft-said higher octave, Uranian. Right now I’m ready for Mars! I’m ready to put what I’ve learned into action and to focus not just on astrology but how the multidimensional understanding we are lucky to get from it can be applied to a world that needs a lot of help.

Back to Basics

For most of its 7+ years of existence, you’ve seen on the sidebar of this blog The Radical Virgo Vision … a place where all signs—not just Virgos—learn how to express the best of their star map. Borrowing from the original article, “The Radical Virgo,” the namesake of this blog first published in The Mountain Astrologer in April/May 1992, I’m adding a line. It now reads:

… a place where all signs—not just Virgos—learn how to express the best of their star map and are encouraged to do their best for the evolution of the planet.

This addition goes back to the original Radical Virgo article that outlines Virgo’s three realms of influence: sexuality, work and enlightenment. This line in particular speaks to translating inner evolution to outer group action:

Enlightenment. The Radical Virgo is beyond which toilet bowl cleaner deodorizes best and onto saving the world from going down the drain.

What to Expect in 2017

There will always be astrological information here, and I will continue to make my posts as practical and experiential as possible. Good examples of taking knowledge to its daily application can be found in the Planetary Fishing series. (Just put Planetary Fishing and the planet you want into the search box.) There will of necessity be fewer articles, as in 2016, but my aim is quality over quantity.

There will be a new emphasis on ways we can take our astrological knowledge and apply it to healing our world on all levels. This will especially be relevant to Outerplanetary People, who have profound experiences in the heaven-to-earth dynamic and clear inklings of what’s coming next.

Let me conclude with where I want to start in the New Year. The US Presidential election has been just one example of the dissention and broken nature of human relationships. Terrorist activities and crime are rampant.  You might say that half the world is in opposition to each other with few trines in sight. I want to share tools about how we PUNCs (Plutonian, Uranian, Neptunian Chironics) can put our healing energy into morphing this angry chaos into respect, understanding and co-creation of common ground in a safer, fairer and more loving world. As a preview, I’m sharing a quote that will be my guiding light in the year to come and beyond:

Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressors free.

From A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
by Shane Claiborne

I guess my Libra planets are really kicking in.

Peace, Positive Change and a New Year Full of Blessings,

Joyce

~~~

Photo Credit: © KatyaKatya – Fotolia.com

Don’t forget the PDF Book Sale on The Radical Virgo! To offer more tools to peacemakers and positive change bringers, I’m extending the 50%-off sale one last time through January 31^st.

Need a between the holidays quick and funny read? Remember The Crystal Ball, a metaphysical mystery and page-turner with 5 stars on Amazon. The story takes place in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve—seasonal. See some outlandish change-makers in action as an astrologer and her friends use their passion for longevity to make the world more healthy, fair and loving. However, a bad guy threatens their joy at their 25^th anniversary party, the biggest costume ball of the millennium. It’s a “come as you’ll be in the future” party. You’re invited! Kindle version only $2.99.

New Year’s Blessings and 2016 Changes on The Radical Virgo

Dear Radical Readers,

I have so much to share with you about my 2015— now morphing into 2016—and all the personal evolution it has inspired. Above all, this post is from my heart to yours about how much this blog means to me and where we go from here.

Hubby’s Health. As most of you know, my husband Tim’s health took a downturn in February. He has a slowly progressive muscle disease, Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy Type 2. Due to a complex of related health issues, he lost his mobility prematurely right around Valentine’s Day. He is now in a wheelchair. His care needs are complex and even as a “radical Virgo,” the sudden reality of 24/7 caregiving has been shocking and overwhelming, the hardest work I have ever done. It is also, in many ways, the most rewarding.

I have thought many times this year, who but an extreme Virgo could give such round-the-clock personal service? Love does what love calls for. At times it has been isolating, joining (so many people want to help), and confounding as I’ve had to learn to be a nurse, physical therapist and chief cook and bottle washer for two adults and one cat. Except for wife and cat mom, I have no training in those other jobs. The learning curve has been fierce and demanding. The physicality required of helping a nearly 200-lb. man with wheelchair transfers and personal care has been a huge challenge for me at five-foot-nothing and being so not-a-jock. (I have developed biceps!) I still want time to be a wife, companion, and cat mom. To play with Kira and her nip mouse and watch her chase her laser beam. Even though my license plate says HIGH NRG, my vitality has been in the basement. I’ve had to take measures I’d never consider before just to have the juice to keep going, including medication for depression. (I’m lucky it has worked optimally at a relatively low dosage and I’m “me” again after months of being a wrung-out dishrag version of the old Joyce.)

Astrology Lessons. I have often written on this blog about my Jupiter trine Mars (in water, no less) and my tendency to overdo just about everything. This year of forced focus on family and the nitty gritty of daily living has been a revelation for me. There has been a lot of “right sizing” and release of perfectionism. (No one can be perfect at caregiving, the first thing I have ever undertaken that I cannot master and have surrendered my will to try.) I have learned to ask for help (huge for me) and to be the recipient instead of always the giver. (I’m singing a new Nep-tune.)

I “get” Pluto better than ever. Being a very Cardinal person, the Uranus-Pluto square has been ravaging me for several years. Of course, I resisted giving up the things Lord Pluto insisted upon—my beloved home of 17 years in favor of one that’s more accessible for Tim, starting with a single-level and wider doors for his wheelchair. Writing has had to be on the back burner. Astrology has insisted that I give it a vacation as a leader and become more of a follower, stepping into my lifelong star-student role. For now I’m dabbling in astrological conversations primarily on Facebook and not living every waking hour by my ephemeris. I am humbly grateful that while I have had to give up my husband as he was; his overall health is holding, and we are both still here, enjoying each other enormously. Humor has been our buoy on all these choppy waters.

What I’ve learned from all these changes, at a very visceral level, is that they represent what must die in me before my resurrection. I’ve been “threatening” to downsize my activity on The Radical Virgo for at least two years, probably longer. The Radical Reposts of 2015 have been a break and a breather to decide what to do next, and also to create an index by topic of the majority of posts. If and when I have an opportunity, I’ll create a page where the topics and related posts are up for a grand tour of the highlights of this nearly seven-year-old blog.

The Move is the Key. For now, it will take all my energetic resources to accomplish our move—the prerequisite to many more positive changes. (This year I could hardly get through the day, much less find the extra energy to prep for a move.) The sale of our home will loosen our finances, along with a significant income increase coming in autumn. These breaks will have a divine domino effect, allowing us to hire more help for Tim so I can resume the creative life and not be so tied to caregiving. We’ll be able to afford a van with an electronic ramp and increase our ability to get around with ease and as often as we want. I won’t bore you with the details of what it takes me to help transfer Tim in and out of the car at present and how stressful and tiring the job I forgot to mention—chauffeur to endless appointments—can be. What’s important is that to go forward, I have to put other things aside for the time being.

The Radical Virgo in 2016. As of this post, The Radical Virgo blog is on occasional post status. I’m sure I won’t be able to resist at least a poem at the Cardinal turning points, perhaps more if the spirit moves and an energy spurt bubbles up—or I need for a break from moving-related chores that happens to coincide with an astrological or metaphysical insight I want to share. These are likely to be the shorter Munchies for Astro-Thought type posts.

If you’ve followed the Radical Reposts, you know there is so much to rediscover on this blog before anything new is added. I read the reposts sometimes that popped up as “popular” in my statistics. They feel new to me. I rarely remember what I wrote and how it came to me! The reposts have allowed me to appreciate what an amazing body of astrological literature exists here and how much of it is channeled or co-created with Spirit. As I have captured and indexed the posts by topic, I have said “whew!” so many times. This Virgo has really earned a rest after 429 posts, most of them full-length articles.

Facebook. The more active and interactive Radical Virgo site is now this blog’s Facebook page. Even if you’re not big on Facebook, I urge you to consider learning what a positive and exciting “school” it can be for all things spiritual. When you befriend with awareness and share the good, Facebook can be a haven of love and inspiration. I post many fun and informative things and plenty of shares from other astrologers.

Visit The Radical Virgo on Facebook—often!
It’s where it’s happening now! https://www.facebook.com/radicalvirgo

Hug the New Year.  Embrace change. This is the biggest lesson I’ve taken away from my Uranus/Pluto transits. Whenever I have resisted my current caregiving role and resented its intrusion on my plans (like the next novel), I made myself miserable. The more I accepted it, the more I saw its tremendous gifts, like helping me learn to simplify my complicated life. Hard as it is to imagine in the midst of anger and resistance, Pluto really has our good at heart. Thanks to being “decked” energetically, I’ve learned the value of rest and have woven it into my life as a permanent habit. I’ve certainly learned at a new level that love is all that matters.

I want to take this moment to give all my readers a virtual hug for your love and support. This blog has fed my spirit and allowed me to express my astrological ideas and creativity for the first square of a Saturn cycle. It’s one of the loves of my life! Earlier in the year, I thought I might have to abandon posting all together and put the blog on archive status … but one of my lessons in toning down my Jupiter/Mars is that things don’t have to be all or nothing. I’ve done All most of my life. It’s now time to learn to bend with the times and make the most out of the moment.

I’m glad for my astrological hiatus, as it’s helping me to avoid burnout, which gives me hope for more starry conversations and contributions in the future.

Meanwhile, see you here now ‘n’ then and on Facebook more often. Posting short, speedy tidbits works well for this era of my life.

Wishing you your best New Year ever,

Joyce

Photo Credit: © penguinline - Fotolia.com

Full List of Facebook Opportunities!

In addition to Joyce Mason - The Radical Virgo on Facebook, which focuses on astrological posts and shares, including links to posts on this Radical Virgo blog, there are four other ways to connect with me on Facebook:

Joyce Mason – Personal news, inspiration, booster shots of positivity and occasional highlights of my writing life. This is where I post the most, including a few general  audience Astro-tidbits. (The more technical Astro-stuff is on The Radical Virgo, above.)

Writer Joyce Mason – Dedicated to quotes and inspiration about reading and writing, New Ink blog posts and news about my non-astrological writing projects.

Chiron and Wholeness – News on my Chiron primer and topics that relate to its content.

Keywords to Unlock Chiron – News on my ultimate Chiron book to date and its publication path from PDF to (eventually!) paper and other formats. Keywords explores 50 words or phrases that teach us just about everything we'll ever need to know about the Chiron archetype. (Available for purchase on the sidebar of this blog.)

No Small Change on The Radical Virgo

Bell Rock rings and whispers oracular things.

Dear Radical Readers,

Welcome to the World of Rapid Evolution! The current astrological patterns in the sky reflect that dramatic change is required of all of us in our current time/space continuum. The Radical Virgo is not exempt from this atmosphere. I have much to share about some transitions that I’m beginning to make on this blog. I hope you’ll enjoy the new direction as much as you have our adventures together in the past.

Voices on the Vortex. Last May, I was blessed with a huge cosmic hint near Bell Rock in Sedona, AZ. A sentence entered my mind out of nowhere: You need to get a master's degree in mythology. I knew I’d never think of such a thing myself, so I figured it was divinely inspired. Like anyone who follows her Moon as her inner GPS, I went right to my motel room and Googled "master’s degree mythology" plus my zip code. What came up was the Joseph Campbell School of Mythology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA.

To make a very long story short, after scratching my head for months on how I’d afford this program in both time and money, I ultimately realized that this message was figurative, not literal. This realization followed another aha. After being steeped in the Chiron archetype of unresolved pain for nearly two months with my Chiron 101 class, I was ready to have fun! A lighter weight project cried out to me, and in keeping with my vow to take on nothing new till 2013, an unfinished project on the back burner jumped to mind. Maybe it was time to complete the rewrite on my humorous, metaphysical mystery book. Hmm, I thought. The St. Martin's Press annual First Mystery Novel contest usually occurs in the late part of each year. If it were late enough, I'd have time to enter. The deadline is Nov. 30. I realized the Bell Rock message had another translation. A master in mythology is a master of storytelling or fiction.

The cosmos has opened in every way to say YES to this interpretation! When I first came back to astrology in 2009 after a long hiatus, one of my goals was to re-establish the great audience of readers I had enjoyed in the past. Not only did I want to share more cosmic ideas, but I'd hoped I could bring many of you with me to my writing in other genres. You probably won't be surprised to hear that the protagonist of my novel is an eclectic astrologer--and the president of a longevity association. Whether or not I win the contest, the Oracle at Bell Rock has spoken! I'll have a salable manuscript by December 1. If I win (visualize that with me), Yay! If not, I'll start looking for an agent or self-publish.

Transitions. This new direction means I can no longer devote the many hours to blogging and my monthly newsletter that I have done during the past 2.5 years. There are things I'll have to let go in order to claim what has been my dream for as long as I can remember. That's not easy for a Plutonian person who has more than her share of attachment issues!

When I was a college freshman, if someone asked me what I wanted out of life, I would say, naïve as it sounds, "to make people happy." I feel this new direction will allow me to slip readers a Mickey of wisdom through laughter, adventure, and storytelling. (I guess that's a pun, because my protagonist is named Micki.) I want to leave people smiling and thinking, and in the fiction genre, I can pull out all the stops for hilarity.

The Changes. My recent New Moongram will by my last monthly newsletter. The Moongram will now come quarterly at the Solstices and Equinoxes and offer more eclectic news. Even though it won’t necessarily be Moon-focused, the Radical Virgo Moongram still feels like the right title, because everything I share with you is colored with intuition and lunar guidance.

Many other astrologers blog about the New Moon, and I know you'll find new sources and perspectives to explore to get your monthly New Moon booster shot. (Those not on the e-mail list have probably done that already, since the Moonwalks and the Moongram merged and became exclusive to the mailing list.) After 23 years of conducting ceremonies at the Cardinal Turning Points, celebrating the solstices and equinoxes is one of my biggest contributions to my local community--and soon my virtual community through The Radical Virgo Moongram.

During the next two months of intense writing, I'm going to do short journal entries sharing the experience with you on The Radical Virgo. This transitional feature will be called A Radical Departure.  It will give my readers a vicarious chance to experience writing a book with me. I hope that you'll also share my excitement about where I'm headed.

I have several late-year posts ready, and there will naturally be some holiday fun. In 2012, I plan to convert The Radical Virgo to a website. It's likely to have blog component for alerting you to occasional new articles, if you subscribe to the feed or by e-mail. The beauty of the website conversion is that it will offer you easier access to material by topic. There are nearly 170 posts on The Radical Virgo, most of them full-length articles. (You’ve probably not read them all, and there are likely some new finds for you in the old archives.) Articles are more difficult to locate in the journal-style chronology by date that's the standard template of blogs. I'm envisioning tabs for major topic areas. As the spirit moves and time allows, there will be new articles.

And to you, my loyal readers, I say, Stick with me. The fun has just begun!

Jupiter is currently trine my Moon, and in late March (just about the time the contest winner is announced), T-Jupiter enters my 1st House. I hope you're as excited for me as I am about where the Moon has led me. And since you've gone with me to the Moon so many times before, I hope you're "in" for the next ride!

Once The Radical Virgo becomes a website/blog with occasional blog notices to alert you to new articles posted, it will be more important than ever to subscribe by e-mail or feed to be on top of what’s new. Joining my e-mail list is also worth your while! Discounts on books and services will continue to be given through the Moongram e-mails. If you haven’t signed up, take less than a minute to do it now on the top of the sidebar. You won’t miss a thing, and the communiqués are spaced far enough apart that I hope you’ll be happy to hear from me.

I can’t wait to share with you a mix of astrology and other esoteric arts mixed in with storytelling, adventure, and humor. In my next post, you’ll hear just what this novel is all about. I’ll be back between now and late November to share the process!

Thanks for your continued support,

Joyce