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A question for you. If you were born into a Christian denomination but like myself have lapsed from religion you may have to dig deep to find the common link between these biblical personalities –

Noah sitting on his Arc; Moses labouring on a mountain transcribing the commandments; Elijah fasting on Mount Horeb; the people of the City of Nineveh repenting their ways; Jesus fasting in the wilderness; and Jesus appearing to humanity after the crucifixion?

Any ideas?

Answer – 40 days

Can you identify the common themes associated with those stories, which are interwoven into the fabric of this magical number 40? There are myriad other examples taken from other spiritual traditions that talk of a ritualistic cleansing, purification, prayer, inner reflection, stillness in preparation for a renewal of spirit and ultimately a re-birthing of the light within. Each story contains an end to the process of internalised conflict and testing wherein an orb of light bathes the seeker in a glorious radiance of light; each having emerged from a cave, mountain top, desert illuminated, enlightened and at peace.

In short, prior to the emergence of a new dawn, a renewed spirit and sense of hope and awareness is a 40 day period of stillness and reflectiveness; of cleansing, purification and preparation; and of facing yourself. Our stories are ultimately cosmic ones, as humanity is embedded in a vast field of intelligence, interlinking the above with the below. Our myths retain the knowledge of our stellar origins encoded in the lives of those who have inspired our spiritual traditions. The 40 day purification is the story of one planetary phenomenon and I find it interesting that such a portent is occurring between the 15^th May and the 27^th June 2012 just ahead of the exact harmonic resonance of two titanic planetary archetypes that herald the emergence of the new conditions of being on the 24^th June!

Okay, the day count from the 15^th May to the 27^th June is actually 43 days, but if you average out this regular 18-20 month phenomena over a long period of time, you get 40 days, and it times a planetary phenomenon tracking the Light Bearer, Venus, lolling around a certain region of space. This period is known as a Transmutation of Light, as our consciousness is replenished and re-vitalised with renewed love and awareness. What is remarkable about the coming months, is that this cycle contains within it the second of a duet of cosmic notes (the last one occurring in 2004) not to occur again until 2117 that will announces the literal infusion of the Divine Feminine on the Earth on the 6^th June, when Venus crosses the actual face of the Sun and the Earth is literally infused with the Light of Love.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

For all intent and purpose time is like a fabric that contains a texture and is not constant. It is not linear but cyclically spiral and it can speed up or slow down. It has a character and a mood and moreover it is imbued into the very matrix of our existence. Its’ personality is neither good nor bad, it just is. The manifestation of its’ archetypal potentiality is revealed as the planets in our solar system dance to the gentle hum of a universal tune and is imbibed and moulded by our conscious intention.

In preparation to consciously receive this infusion of Light, I would like you to reflect over your life of the past two years. Look at how much you have had to confront within yourself and within your relationships. Look at the depth to which your inner process has reached, and look at how conscious you have become of the intensity of your emotions and feelings. Look around you at what our society has had to confront – the abuse of power; lies; deception; greed; hubris; slavery; grief; loss – normal but really intensely charged emotions. In our own way, we have been prompted to confront the dark within ourselves and within the society that we have built and it is comforting to see how much more aware people in general are that change is afoot.

The themes that emerged two years ago are part of a wider 8 year cycle, which commenced on the 17^th May to 29^th June 2004, whose subsequent phases took place December 24^th 2005 to February 3^rd 2006, July 27^th to September 8^th 2007, March 6^th to April 17^th 2009 and October 8^th to November 18^th 2010. This series of cycles when plotted against the backdrop of the constellations forms a pentagram, which gradually moves backwards at a rate of 2 or 3 degrees every 8 years. The pentagram is a geometric symbol that is revealed at a time that we descend into our inner depths to draw forth deeply rooted creative expression that is infused into the most aesthetically pleasing art and architecture, as well as forming the basis of the most harmonically peaceful music (2/3 and 5/8 time). That the pending cycle reaches back through time to draw together the sensitive places in space over the past 8 years, this quinary symbol reveals the power to manifest Divine Love in the coming weeks.

Figure 1.

With the recent advances in computer technology, we can now plot the orbital movement of Venus over many, many years. Once plotted, a rose shaped mandala is created, the heart of which is the pentagram (see figures 2 and 3). To note, one of the expressions that Venus has been considered by Western astrologers to be symbolic of the expression of love and the rose is flower given to symbolise that feeling. Our predecessors did not plot the pattern that Venus makes in the sky in this way, yet instinctively knew what that celestial body meant.

                                                      

Figure 2                                 Figure 3.

The Meaning

Although each retrograde cycle is different, similar issues may arise.  In fact, some of the issues you faced then may need to be dealt with now. So to help you better understand this process, I have created a word map of the core concepts associated with Venus. What I would like you to do is to scan over the map and reflect on one or two words that stand out for you. Transport yourself back to 2004 and consider the quality of those words in your then, since the roots of your current process took then. Can you see a similar theme emerging?

                                                                                        Figure 4.

Please indulge me with a personal example. To realise a long term dream of creating a space that I could share with my friends and family, I was confronted in the summer of 2004 by the limitations of my own attitude towards money, when I ‘happened’ upon an ancient property that spoke to this specific soul intention. Not having much money in the bank, as a result of numerous ‘big’ outgoings (wedding and new born baby), I had three weeks within which to make a decision to commit or not. Being a self-employed astrologer is not something that even a Celtic Tiger bank felt comfortable with. Add to that being raised in a household were half the monetary values were derived from a Scots Presbyterian and the other an Irish Anglican!! However there was something pushing me that transcended the ordinary economic decisions that tend to motivate me, and rather than living within a paradigm of fear, I committed myself to making a decision that was universally condemned, which has subsequently had both a powerful and positive impact on me and those close to me ever since. That shift in my value system is once again being tested and further deeply ingrained values are up for processing for the first time since that summer.

If you cannot find a word or two that jumps out on you, perhaps it would be easier to reflect on specifics – what values did you hold stedfast prior to 2004 were challenged and prompted to grow as a consequence of the developments within your consciousness? Did any economic, social or relationship changes take place then? What ideals took root in your soul that has fuelled your journey since that time? In addition to your own personal process, can you see the roots of our current immediate crisis beginning in earnest in that year?

However, this cycle is not about economic values. At its heart, this cycle concerns being gentle with yourself; allowing your light really shine forth; letting go outworn ideas that have contributed to divert you away from the ideals that are central to your life. That you are entering into a period of 40 odd days that are conducive to cleansing and purging your soul from outworn scripts, relationships, friendships, ideals and values, deeply reflecting on those attachments and allowing any conditional script die is really what this time is about. In short, it is a time to purify your soul and allow the light within re-emerge.

Renovatio will take place on the 6^th June as this quinary symbol is formed in the ether imbibing you with the capacity for manifestation, infused with the Divine Feminine that will enable you to replenish and revitalise all that you love.

Personal Level

Unfortunately it is beyond the scope of this article to truly discuss the specific issues being addressed as this loll in time in your life, however, by exploring the general area of your life where this activity will be more readily seen and understood, will help you initiate this process. You will need to look at your birth chart and plot where this retrograde process falls you.

To locate where all this activity will fall for you:

1. Find the sign of Gemini in your birth chart and look at the house that this sign occupies. If you are a client, then Gemini is coloured yellow on the chart I gave you during your session.
2. There are 12 houses, or zones, in a birth chart and they refer to the areas of life experience wherein the archetypal potential of your life will find an outlet for expression. If you imagine your chart to be a wheel, the houses are contained within the thin black line portions which makes the birth circle look like possessing spokes. (Please note that the houses are listed in an anti-clockwise manner, so the first house cusp is at the 9 o’clock position (if you pretend that the horoscope is a clock)).
3. The picture below depicts a birth chart, with the position of the retrogradation on the outside, which will fall within the 10^th house.

Figure 5

The following graph contains a one word guideline to the meaning of the houses.

Figure 6

The following is a general guideline to help you become more conscious of the arena in your life is being prompted into re-evaluation in the coming six weeks:

1st house – your sense of identity; your image; your body

2nd house – your talents and skills; your attitude towards your possessions and money

3rd house – your way of thinking and writing; your sibling and neighbourhood relationships

4th house – your attitude towards your family; your sense of culture and heritage

5th house – your relationship to any children in your life; your sense of joy; any close friendships

6th house – your attitude towards your bodily rituals and diet; your sense of service; any relationships to colleagues or staff

7th house – your intimate friendships and/ or long term partner; any legally committed relationships; clients

8th house – your sense of debt; your attitude towards any financial or emotional investments; your partner’s finances

9th house – your philosophy and sense of belief; your sense of adventure; your in-laws!

10th house – your attitude to your career and/ or any authority figures you may have in your life

11th house – your sense of community and group involvement; your wider circle of friends

12th house – your relationship to gOd, divinity, spirit; your sense of philanthropy and compassion

Closing thoughts

This stall in time is prompting to a great awareness your interior conditions rather than upon the external chaotic and stressful social and economic conditions. I believe it is a phenomenal time that can lay the seeds for a new value system that will grow over the coming 8 years whether you see that is being true is ultimately a choice. The energetic conditions are such that there is a natural shift in the space/ time conditions to look within and not only evaluate your thoughts concerning, but to get in touch with deeper, subjective feelings regarding, what you value and love; who you love; what you really invest your energy into; your finances; and your creativity. Since this is a time wherein you will establish a new emotional foundation, action this side of the end of June is not really required. Remember that each of the spiritual masters was in a process of ‘enlightenment’ during this retrograde phase, and that their actions were transparent after they emerged from their retreat. The key to understanding this process is that you can really trans-mutate your thoughts and your mind. Since we live in a thought generated universe, if you can really align your thoughts with your values, imagine what that could mean for your life and for those around you? Phenomenal

I will write about the once in a life time eclipse of the Sun by Venus on the 6^th June shortly, as that will be the perfect day for intention setting, but I urge you, ahead of the serious social, political and economic challenges that we are faced from the end of June to the early part of 2015, to take this forthcoming 40 days to go to your cave, mountain, desert and face honestly yourself. Know that you can confront those parts of yourself which have been suppressed and distorted filled with divine love and support at this time and really think about what you want to establish and see grown in your life throughout the duration of the new pentagram.

All rights reserved. Andrew Smith, 7^th May 2012, 11:46am BST.

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