Book Review: Midlife Is Not A Crisis: Using Astrology To Thrive In The Second Half Of Life

     I turned 36 this year and that birthday was a doozy.  Typically, I'm not a person that panics about celebrating another birthday, but this year was different.  As my birthday approached, I began feeling

Watch out for that birthday.
It's a doozy!

an increasingly noticeable shift in myself.  My energy, my attitude, my outlook, my desires.... they were all changing.  Those changes, however, took a back burner to the anxiety and frustration I had also begun feeling.  The anxiety, fear, and frustration showed up at about the same time I found a steal gray hair on the top of head. It all came crashing in on me at that moment.  I was going to be 36 years old and what have I done? What have I accomplished? Where is my life going?  I'm closer to my 40's than my 20's and what do I have to show for almost 40 years on this earth???  

     I was a whirling dervish of crazy on the inside while faking calm and composure on the outside.  Then, right on cue, a package with a new book to review arrived in the mail.  I opened the envelope and immediately began maniacally laughing at what I found inside.  I snapped a picture of the book, sent it to a friend and told her "The universe got jokes".  Divine timing, synchronicity, coincidence, or the universe desperately wanting me to get my shit together; call it what you will, but it showed up just in time to pull me out of my crazy and give me the perspective I desperately needed.

     Midlife Is Not A Crisis isn't your average astrology book and Virginia Bell isn't your average astrologer.  She's lived, what I consider, a very adventurous life.  In her early 20's, she moved to Europe to work as an actress in films.  She returned to the states in the sixties to continue working in the film industry and when her Saturn return hit, she left the movie business and opened not one, but two restaurants.  She began studying astrology in the late 1980s and now works as a full time astrologer and writer.  

        Like most astrology books, her book begins with a quick astrology overview.  Then it dives into astrological life cycles; starting with the Saturn Return (age 29), leading you through the cycles, and all the way into your 80s. Well thought out and easy to follow, you don't need to be well versed in the science of astrology to follow this book. 

This book taught me that:

• I felt like my legs had been kicked out from under me during my Saturn return because that's exactly what happens.  " ...Jupiter gives us crutches while Saturn takes them away."
• "...midlife isn't just an event, it's a journey; like any great voyage, it's also an inner process, certain to change us if we pay attention."
• No, seriously, midlife is a journey that spans a decade and involves almost all the planets getting their hands dirty.  (Sooo buckle up and pick a good wine for the trip)
• Virginia Bell explains the process planet by planet, sign by sign etc., giving insight for what to expect, what to do and what not to do.  
• Knowing is half the battle....

Midlife is coming...  Do I get a dragon?? 

    When my Saturn return hit, I was completely caught off guard.  I was living in NYC and things just weren't going how I'd planned. On more than one occasion, I came home, closed my apartment door, slid to the floor and began to ugly cry harder than a seasoned soap opera star.  Saturn had brought me to my knees (which, apparently is what he does best during your Saturn return). It was a dinner with a friend and professional astrologer that helped me understand what was happening.   She sat quietly, listening to me tell her everything that was happening. At the end of my emotional dissertation, she said (in her thick staten island accent), "How old are you.... oh, well no wonder... it's your Saturn Return. That's why everything sucks."  

     I had no idea Saturn was coming for me.  I was unprepared and playing a losing game of catch up.  I also had no idea my midlife cycle was about to begin; with other cycles to follow. But thanks to this book, I know what's coming and how to prepare.  I'm standing at the precipice of my midlife cycle and I feel like I need to pull my life apart and put it back together again; rearranging everything. I felt crazy (well, crazier than usual) because I've worked so hard to get my life to where it is now.  How can I just rip it all up and start again?  How can I say this life is too small for me now and I want something bigger?  That's pretty risky; especially at my age, right? Virginia Bell's book said, "I know you feel crazy right now. It's normal and here's what to do."  I wish I had this book during my Saturn Return (because good Gods was that a shit show to behold) and I'm going to hold onto it for the future.  Virginia Bell has given us a book that will help every reader prepare for their inevitable life cycles.  Midlife Is Not A Crisis has a permanent place on my go-to bookshelf and I recommend anyone, with even a mild interest in astrology, to pick up this book and discover how astrological cycles can affect their life.  

You can find Virginia Bell in these places:
Website: http://virginiabellastrology.com/
Publisher/Purchase: http://redwheelweiser.com/detail.html?id=9781578636129
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Virginia-Bell-Astrology-213487410884/


Bright Blessings,
~A

   

Quick (kinda) Tip: Are Your Crystals Dirty??

 Tomorrow is the full moon and a lunar eclipse!  The full moon is a great time for meditation, spell work and ritual, but it's also a great time to cleanse your crystals (and anything else that needs a good cleansing).  With the added umph we're getting from the eclipse, I decided it's a good time for a massive crystal cleansing. I've been meandering through the apartment for the last hour, digging out all my crystals, rocks and seashells.  These guys are getting a good bath whether they like it or not!  But first, there are a lot of different ways to cleanse crystals:

• Earth Cleansing ~ If you're lucky enough to have a yard or a bit of earth that won't be disturbed dig a whole and bury your crystals. Once buried, visualize the old, stale, negative energy being drawn out and away from your crystals. Then visualize them being filled with new, positive energies.  Leave them in the ground for at least 24 hours, allowing Mother Earth to cleanse and restore your crystals. This method is especially good for geodes. Just make sure you remember where you buried them!

• Rain Water ~ Leaving crystals outside in the rain is a great way to cleanse them.  Put them in a secure spot or in a bowl and just let them hang out in the rain.  Spend some time visualizing the old energies dripping away from them.  Don't be afraid to put them outside in a storm.  Storm energy is a great cleanser but will also give crystals a powerful charge.  Just make sure, if the storm is accompanied by strong winds, the crystals are secure and won't get blown over. 

• Running Water ~ Holding your crystals under lukewarm, running water is a quick way to cleanse them.  If you have access to a body of water like a stream or lake, you can hold your crystals in the water (hold on tight!). Visualize the stagnate, old and negative energies flowing down the drain or down stream.

• Smoke ~ Cleansing with smoke, or smudging, is another easy way to cleanse crystals.  There are a variety of cleansing herbs and incenses that can be used but I stick with sage.  Hold the crystal in the smoke and visualize the old energies being carried away in the smoke.  If possible, have a window open so the smoke can travel out and away.  

• Full Moon & Sunlight ~  This is the method I use most often, especially when cleansing a lot of crystals (I'll discuss this method in greater detail below).  Place your crystals on a windowsill or outside. Make sure they are in a spot where they will get full moonlight and sunlight.  The full moon light will cleanse the crystals and the sunlight will recharge them. Allowing crystals to spend some time in sunlight is especially beneficial for clear quartz but can cause crystals, such as rose quartz and amethyst to fade over time.  

My Crystal Cleansing Method

     I'm a city girl and can't readily perform all the cleansing practices I mentioned above.  I can't bury my crystals in the ground because I'm surrounded by concrete and the NYPD frowns upon burying things in Central Park.  Holding crystals in a stream or river isn't a possibility either, putting my hand in water around here might send me to the doctor for a tetanus shot.  Rain water is also a bit iffy, I'd rather not know what's dripping off the building along with the rain.  That leaves me with smoke cleansing and Full Moon/Sunlight.  Since I'm basically cleansing every crystal in the apartment, smoke cleansing is out the question. It will take too long and I'd like to avoid having to explain myself to the fire department (although, the firemen in my neighborhood are pretty cute, hmm...?).  So, cleansing with Moon and Sun it is!!  As long as the sun and moon are in the sky this method is pretty easy. 

What will you need?

• a bowl large enough to fit your crystals (the bowl should not be made of metal)
• salt for cleansing (not required, just my personal preference)
• rosemary (not required, just my personal preference)
• water  - I use filtered water but tap water is just fine. 

Place the salt and rosemary on the bottom of the bowl

     Why salt? Have you ever had a cyst, blister or sore throat? (I know it's gross but stick with me, there's a point, I swear.) What did your mom and grandmother tell you to do? Add salt to warm or hot water and gargle your throat or hold it on the cyst/blister with a clean cloth.  Salt draws out the impurities. It helps purify and cleanse the crystal.  A little salt is all you need, to much and it could scratch and alter the surface of the crystals.  Rosemary is included when I cleanse crystals because it has the ability draw out the negative while simultaneously drawing in the positive.


      

    Once the salt and rosemary are in the bowl you can begin placing the crystals in the bowl.  If your a crystal hoarder like myself, you may need to use multiple bowls.  When the sun sets I'll place the bowl holding the crystals, salt and rosemary outside on the fire escape.  Next, I'll add the water (this should be the final step. Walking around with a bowl full of crystals and water is a bad and messy idea. Trust me!). Now the crystals can be left to their own devises until morning, allowing Mother Moon and Father Sun to do the rest. Or, once the moon has risen, you can spend some time focusing on the crystals.  Visualize the energies that are no longer needed being pulled out of the crystals and drawn away from them.  Leave them out for the entire night and the following morning.  Transparent or brightly colored crystals (ie. rose quartz, amethyst, citrine) are at risk of fading from direct sunlight. Consider keeping them separate and bringing them in early to prevent fading.  The next morning, drain the water out of the bowl and bring all the crystals inside.  Rinse them off, removing the salt and rosemary.  Dry them and place them back where they belong in your home. The energy should feel lighter and the crystals are now cleansed and charged.

No water for these guys (except the 
coral in the middle.... oops!)

     Placing crystals in water is not always necessary and sometimes should not be done. There are crystals that will dissolve when placed in water for extended periods of time.  An easy way to remember this is 'ite'.  Most water soluble crystals end in 'ite'. You can also do a scratch test with a steel knife.  Try scratching a small area of the crystal, if the knife easily leaves a scratch avoid putting it in water.  Selenite, calcite, fluorite, sodalite, gypsum and lapis lazuli are some crystals that are water soluble.  Holding these crystals in running water for a short period of time is fine but they should not spend hours soaking in water.  Research your crystals before placing them in water or leave out the water altogether.  They will still be cleansed and recharged if placed outside without water.  




     This is the cleansing method I'm using today but remember there are multiply ways you can cleanse your crystals.  Cleansing and recharging your crystals is vital to keeping them clear and working at their highest ability.  Think about how you feel after a long shower or bath. You're cleansed, energized and ready to work and your crystals will feel the same after a good cleansing.  Don't forget to include seashells, coral and other rocks you keep around. These guys carry energy too and also appreciate a good cleansing.  Some crystals need to be treated like a Mogwai: no food after midnight and absolutely no water!  Always cleanse a crystal when you first bring it home and before working with it in a healing capacity.  Crystals hold memories and energies and we have no idea what they go through before they find their way to us.  Clearing that energy and giving the crystal a clean slate is very important.  Remember to use visualization and make sure your crystals get good and cleansed on a regular basis (whatever schedule works for you).

Happy crystal cleansing!

Bright Blessings,
~Amethyst~

Outside waiting for the Moon to rise

The Harvest Mocks Me

     My tarot cards certainly aren't timid.  This morning, before the sun came up, after a night of violent tossing and turning, I sat bleary eyed and shuffled my deck.  Before I could complete my usual regiment of shuffling and cutting, shuffling and cutting, shuffling and cutting...  a card flipped out of the deck and landed in my lap.  It was this guy.... 

Harvest  ~  The Green Witch Tarot 

    .....and at first I was confused.  I haven't exactly been in a harvesty mood (my cup runneth over but there's a bug in my drink).  Yeah, things have been murky and the last bit of tarnish on my silver lining just won't come out no matter how much I scrub.  This card represents so much... happiness, positive abundance, renewal, reward etc.  It mocked me. It reminded me of everything I've wanted and worked for and how far I still am from attaining so many of those things. You sir, with your smiling face and bountiful vegetables mock me.  As I was shoving the cards back in their bag I heard a soft message that made this cards presence in front of my face this morning make sense.  Work....

    I pulled the card out and looked at it again.  This man with a smiling face, this happy pair and their overflowing harvest.  How did they arrive in this place? What was the work behind the harvest? If I want to arrive at this place of positive abundance what is the work I have to do to get my ass there?


"....With a sense of revelation and insight comes renewed energy, but also a time of accountability or reckoning resulting from actions taken, choices made, and opportunities ignored. There may be a need for self assessment as to whether one's decisions have been beneficial or detrimental to personal growth and spiritual peace.  Some form of atonement for past actions may be initiated or forced upon oneself through the judgments of others. Along with this evaluation is the potential for a rebirth, with new insight as to direction or possible changes in one's life, and even an influx of psychic awareness and understanding through an altered state as the second harvest is celebrated with the wine of life. With revelation and insight comes renewed energy for further transformative action."  -The Green Witch Tarot Companion 


What aspect of your life needs to be reevaluated?  
Does a hard decision need to be made and, if so, are avoiding making the choice?
Have you made a bad decision and now a course adjustment is required (don't beat yourself up, shit happens)?
Your efforts will be rewarded but only if you get off your ass and get started.
Do you hold yourself accountable for all actions, both good and not so good?
Are you afraid of rebirth? If so, why (if there's something in the shadows holding you back turn around and look it dead in the eye)??
Self care/Restorative care is important. Don't be afraid to take a time out and do you.

    Nothing lasts forever, including the smile on that guys face.  His harvest was bountiful but inevitably his table will be empty and the work toward an abundant harvest will begin again.  The cycle...  Constant hard work and attention is required of the farmer to ensure this bounty and constant work and attention is needed to continue moving forward positively, creating a bountiful life.  And it seems greater challenges and obstacles find their way into our path the more we grow and our spirit expands but with each cycle through we acquire more tools to deal with the hard work that comes before the harvest.   I may not be at that table today but I'll be there again because I've sat there before. 


Work, Work, Work, Work, Work....
~A

It's Harvest Time!

     The produce aisle at the grocery store is overflowing with colorful treats from mother earth and people trying to pick a good piece of fruit.  The days are hot and steamy and

farmer's markets are sprouting up in empty parking lots and city side walks.  Sweet corn signs are everywhere, the line for fresh baked bread goes on for days and sunflowers the size of your head are sold by the bushel. We've reached the halfway point between summer solstice and the autumn equinox.  It's time for Lughnasadh, the first harvest.  Pronounced loo-nah-sa, the Celtic Sun God Lugh (Loo) is honored at this time. There are many spelling variations and different names for this sabbat.  Lunasa is the Gaelic word for the sabbat and the month of August.  Other names for the sabbat are August Eve, First Harvest and Lammas. Lammas is a common name and it means "loaf-mass" most likely because of the grains harvested at this time and subsequent bread making.  Native American traditions refer to this time as the Festival of Green Corn and honor the Corn Grandmother.

     The first of three harvests (followed by Mabon and Samhain), a major theme for this sabbat is abundance.  It's a hard trend to miss because it's everywhere you look.  Gardens are teaming with bright flowers, farms head into overdrive to bring in the harvest and there is a lot to choose from. Grains, corn, fruits and veggies, abundance is everywhere.  At this time of year, we also begin our farewell to the sun.  Nights have come earlier since the summer solstice and the shorter days are more noticeable now.  Despite the raging heat we experience now, this is the beginning of the end of summer. 

     

Lughnasadh Colors 

Gold 

Green

Brown

Orange

Yellow

White

Themes

Abundance 

Fertility 

Gratitude 

Harvest 

Renewal 

Regrets and Farewells

Not that Sirius...

...This Sirius

     Random Fact:  I'm sure you've probably heard the term Dog Days of Summer, right?  Ever wonder where it came from??  It's all Sirius' fault.  Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major or Big Dog and it's one of Orion's hunting dogs.  At this time of year, when Sirius rises with the sun, ancient Romans and Greeks believed Sirius (from the Greek word seirios meaning scorcher or glowing) added fuel to the sun's fire causing more heat to beat down on them.  Ancient Egyptians recognized that the Nile's flooding season began when Sirius showed up and this marked the beginning of the fertile season in the valleys.  

     So it's Lughnasadh, what are you gonna do? Here are some ideas:

Corn Dolly 

• Go on a nature walk
• Wander through a farmer's market 
• Bake some bread
• Make corn dollies
• Volunteer at a local farm
• By some extra fruits and veggies for someone that may not be able to afford them
• Bring home some sunflowers
• Throw a potluck dinner party
• Get your hands dirty with some gardening
• Reflect on where you are in life: what have you been working on? Is it flourishing or do you need to rework your plans?  
• Take time for gratitude and count your blessings. You're probably way more blessed than you realize. Here's a simple gratitude exercise for Lughnasadh.

• You'll need a candle (preferably one of the colors mentioned above), a pen and paper or journal, a jar and some kernels of corn (You can use anything related to the season. Kernels are just a suggestion.)
• Light the candle and spend some breathing deeply and reflecting.
• Then, count your blessings.  Really go deep and express everything you are grateful for. Say them out loud. Each one counts as a kernel and should be added to the jar.  Eventually the jar will begin to fill up and you'll start to see there is much more in your life to be grateful for than you may have realized.  Keep the jar and continue to add to it during the harvest season.
• Once you're done with the jar spend some time journaling, focusing on the themes of Lughnasadh. 
• You can do this with your family, group or alone.

For more information check out these books: 

• The Wiccan Year  by: Judy Ann Nock
• Seasons of Witchery  by: Ellen Dugan
• Sabbats  by: Edain McCoy 

     Enjoy the remaining days of summer and the first harvest. Remember, all that dies shall be reborn.  

~Blessed Be

We All Come From The Goddess/Hoof and Horn

This is one of my favorite chants for this time of year. 

I find myself humming/singing it all the time during the harvest season.

~BB~

Amethyst 

PS ~ If the title of this post reminded you of a certain 90's movie then my work here is done.  **Cackles and drops her book of shadows**