MARCIA SACKS

The New Moon is on Monday, February 20, at 1:05 a.m. CST in 1° Pisces. The Sun and the Moon are coming together just after a conjunction with Saturn in the late degrees of Aquarius. This gives the New Moon a tinge of loss and limitation or maybe just nostalgia. The past is our foundation to build the future which, in the case of the New Moon, is for the two weeks to come. Look for the good things in your past,  the challenges overcome, and the lessons learned. 

​Pisces is a water sign making the days surrounding the New Moon more open to intuitive guidance, empathy and compassion. Another Pisces keyword is 'receptive' which makes it an excellent time to surround yourself with an environment that evokes beauty and wisdom. Music and mantra are especially effective at this time. I came across this Tibetan Medicine Buddha mantra from Tinna Tinh this week:

I collect the mantras I like on youtube in a playlist: Mantra, Kirtan, Chanting

​So when I'm in need of inspiration, healing, calming or whatever, I have my 'go to' chanting in a list ( plus I have a whole mp3 assortment of all the mantra and meditation music CDs I've collected, too). I recommend compiling your own playlist. It doesn't have to be mantra, just any music that uplifts, inspires, or calms.

Temple of Kriya Yoga:

The Temple of Kriya Yoga is developing a new website. They are in between the two sites at the moment. The old website is here and still has the links to the major distance learning programs like The Professional Astrology Course:
https://www.yogakriya.org/professional-astrology.html

The new site is here: https://templeofkriyayoga.org/ and has the bookstore with a selection of Goswami Kriyananda's courses and seminars available.

---
Meditation to Creation
Ann Meara (Swami Satpatyananda) is offering a class on meditation and creativity in March in Sedona, Arizona: https://sedonaartscenter.org/product/meditation-to-creation-23-0323-am/

You can find me on:

• Facebook
• YouTube
• ​Yoga Chicago Magazine
• Temple of Kriya Yoga

The Full Moon is on Monday, September 20 at 6:54 pm CDT in 28° Pisces. We have moved from the New Moon in Virgo with its emphasis on the details of every life to the wide open ocean of Life that Pisces symbolizes. Pisces energy can be "spacey" but it's full of imagination and dreams. Take a look at the day or night sky to feel a sense of expansion and the infinite.

Louise Hay often used this affirmation in her book "You Can Heal Your Life": 
“In the infinity of life where I am,
All is perfect, whole and complete … "
When the Moon is in Pisces, it is easier to connect with that feeling of optimism and of faith in the goodness of life.

There is also some strong Mercury influence in the Full Moon chart, as Mercury is square (inharmonious) to Pluto and trine (in harmony) to Jupiter. An excellent time for a deep dive into the study of something meaningful. With the Libra Mercury to the Aquarius Jupiter, you might find yourself in a big discussion about religion, politics, philosophy or law with another person who has an intriguing viewpoint. You may gain knowledge or a new viewpoint. The Pluto square from Capricorn suggests that you keep things light before a congenial talk turns into a verbal battle.

The Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter dynamic is also in the chart of the Autumnal Equinox which takes place on September 22 at 2:20 pm CDT with the Sun at 0° Libra. It's a time of balance, a moment's rest, and a new beginning into the new quarter year. With the strong Mercury, projects that relate to writing, speaking, teaching and other communication areas will be highlighted.
​
Mercury goes retrograde on September 27th at 25° Libra. This is exactly when you should stay out of discussions about religion and politics. Mercury at this point is square to Pluto which has its own station point (going direct) at 24° Capricorn on October 6. During those times, it would be wise to watch the things you say and the tone of how you say them. Not a good time to begin new things, but can be good for researching information needed for projects that begin after October 18th when Mercury goes direct.

You can find me on:

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Yoga Chicago Magazine
• Temple of Kriya Yoga

If you want to receive this blog post as an email newsletter, please contact me.

The New Moon is on Thursday, September 17 at 6:00 a.m. in 25° Virgo. This is a natural time to analyze, to look at the details of your life and set them in order. One example is applying organizational skills to a project. Have fun reading organizing books like "Getting Things Done" by David Allen or "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo.
​
The Sun and Moon in the New Moon chart are in a wide opposition to Neptune at 19° Pisces. As you pay attention to the details, don't lose sight of the bigger picture. This is one of the themes that goes with a Virgo/Pisces polarity. Another is service (Virgo) vs. sacrifice (Pisces).  Virgo is a very service oriented sign, often very helpful to others. With Pisces in polarity, the person doing service may feel like a they're being taken advantage of. In yoga we talk about the path of Karma Yoga, unselfish service, doing the work because it needs to be done, with joy in service to the Divine, and without looking for an earth plane reward. Just something to contemplate about over the next few days.

​The Autumnal Equinox is September 22 at 8:30 a.m. , when the Sun moves to 0° Libra. This is a point of balance, time to pause and contemplate where you want to go, what you want to do or accomplish in the next few months.

In the future:

Saturn goes direct on September 29 in 25° Capricorn. This puts it close to Pluto at 22° Capricorn. Pluto will make its station direct on October 4th.  So this period of time (last half of September through first half of October) will have similarity to the Saturn/Pluto conjunction that took place on January 12, 2020. Most people on the planet didn't know that Covid-19 was already starting to spread around the world at that time. I believe the pandemic is one of the symbols of this conjunction. There are social/political situations in the news that also embody the constraints of Saturn mixed with the urge to revolt of Pluto.  I wrote about the Saturn/Pluto conjunction as a volcano aspect, simmering tension and frustration with the potential to explode. It's certainly been a metaphor for this year so far.

For each one of us: can we find a way to be constructive with our frustrations, anger and anguish? Alternately, can we get these emotions out of our mind/body complex in a way that doesn't harm others? Back in January I wrote, "Think of how a volcano vents steam to prevent a mountain from blowing its top. We can vent by taking a walk, doing yoga or other balancing movement practices, chanting or singing, or just pulling back from a bad situation. A genuine gentle or caring word to another person may help them vent or defuse."

After the middle of October, Saturn will travel away from Pluto and the difficult situations will slowly begin to ease. 

Coming up this Sunday:

September 20 - The Path of Wisdom
​
Noon Meditation for the Temple of Kriya Yoga by Marcia Sacks, Swami K. Adinadananda

On our journey through life, we strive to stay on the path of wisdom. This meditation will give encouragement to detach from distractions and make wise choices. The astrological significance of the Autumnal Equinox will be included plus a guided meditation to reflect on the equinox and our spiritual goals for the months ahead.

This noon meditation will be published on this page on Sunday at noon.

​You can find me on:

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter

The Full Moon is Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 6:56 a.m. in 3° Pisces. Not an eclipse, but every Full Moon has plenty of energy. In Pisces the Full Moon energy is intuitive and creative. Music and art can feed your soul at this time. If you have an unusual dream be sure to journal it. Wait three days and look at it again. Did that dream have a message for you? 

Mars has been retrograde since the end of June. Have you felt like you've been running in place? Working hard but with few results? Mars goes direct on August 27th at 28° Capricorn.  Give Mars a few days to get moving away from the station point and you may find that everything starts to speed up back to normal.

Side Note on Retrogrades:
Hope you don't think that planets actually stop in their orbits and reverse direction. Retrograde planets are an optical illusion based on the location of the planets and its speed in relation to earth and the earth's position relative to the sun. You know how we humans are … it's all about our life on earth. If we viewed the planets heliocentrically - from the Sun's perspective - you would never see a planet moving retrograde. In most Western astrology, we take the Earth's perspective, or the human perspective, and make a symbolic correlation between the apparent motion of the planets and our life on Earth.

In the future:
​
September 6 - Retrograde Saturn goes direct at 3° Capricorn. Keep things simple. Take things slow. Actually things will go slowly a week on either side of a Saturn direction anyway.  Plan to leave early if you want to get somewhere on time.

September 16 - Noon meditation and 1 p.m. lecture at the Temple of Kriya Yoga with Marcia Sacks, Swami K. Adinadananda
Noon Meditation: Creating Your Spiritual Reality
1 p.m. Lecture: The Autumnal Equinox: Time, Karma and Astrology 

Yoga Chicago Magazine
Watch for my article in the September/October issue of Yoga Chicago which will be found in your local yoga and fitness centers around September 1.

The new moon takes place on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 8:11 a.m. CDT in 26° Pisces.
​
Pisces is a sign of intuition, empathy and compassion.  Your dreams at night and the sparks of insight in your daydreams become more vivid and meaningful during this new moon time (including three days before and after).  Hopefully, you are already journaling these types of things.  Dreams and inspiration are fleeting and easily forgotten later if not written down.

Two aspects of note at this time:

The new moon is squared to Mars.  This aspect symbolizes a sensitivity to criticism.  You may find that your emotional buttons are easily pushed.  In advance of this, rehearse in your mind how you choose to respond, for example with detachment or with kindness or with firmly but diplomatically setting boundaries.  And vice versa, if you have a "helpful" critique for another, give consideration to the other person's feelings.  Remember that lunations have effect for two weeks.  If you start an argument now, it will take some time to resolve.

The new moon is conjunct to the asteroid Chiron.  As an astrologer, I use Chiron, when it's in a strong position like this one.  Mythology and Jungian psychology talk about Chiron as "the wounded healer."  This means that at this time you can be helpful to people with the wisdom gained from having worked with your own deeply difficult experiences.  You may not have perfect resolution of your own personal issues, but your journey toward wellness may shine a light on the path for others.  Don't give advice, just share your story when the time is right.

For creatives, artists, and art enjoyers:
​
The new moon in Pisces is a wonderful time to write, paint, draw, craft, make music, listen to music or play in whatever medium makes your heart sing.  If you need a bit of motivation to get you going, visit a museum, go to a concert or simply sit out in nature with a sketchbook or notebook.  Julia Cameron, who wrote the wonderful book The Artist's Way, suggests having a weekly "artist's date" when you take time to do something that feeds your soul.  Here are her 101 Artist's Date Ideas.

I am giving two talks at the Temple of Kriya Yoga this weekend, Sunday, March 18 :

Noon Meditation:  The Spiritual Essence of New Beginnings
A special meditation for the Vernal Equinox

1 p.m. Lecture:  Astrology and the Practice of Tarka
Tarka is the spiritual practice of inner reflection in order to better know yourself and understand your world.

The Temple of Kriya Yoga
2414 N. Kedzie Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60647
773-342-4600
​[email protected]