Releasing Ghosts
Of the Past
The Spring Astrological Forecast
By Terry Lamb, MA
It's like the crisp clarity of the air after a storm. It may be a bit chill, but the world is refreshed. The vegetation sends forth 6-inch shoots in a day, and the wind whips our hair. Now we know, now we understand. It may not be as exhilarating as knowing the allure of the mysterious, but we feel the calm and peace of having resolved and learned something. We still remember our pain, and so we are easily reconciled to the outcome. Some of the results are good — actually, they are all good. We wouldn't have it any other way. With the wisdom of hindsight, we move forth, determined not to make the same mistakes, resolved to make the best of the new treasures we have found, the new plateau we have reached. We are ready for the next journey.
It's true, we are embarking on a new quest as we speak, but the old journey isn't over quite yet. It takes more than just one encounter with a new understanding to engrain/fix/instill it into our consciousness. It must become a gut level conviction of truth. We will continue to encounter the lesson again and again until we naturally, organically reject those situations that follow the old, unhappy pattern.
We have been working on two themes that the planets have presented to us in powerful ways. Since the spring of 1996, we have been working with a theme of self and other which often spells itself out through our personal relationships. This theme reached critical mass for some people in the summer of '96, diminishing in significance only in the mid-summer of this year. In the fall of '96, a new theme was subtly introduced which has achieved dominance during this year. It has to do with integrating the spiritual and the practical. This often comes out in our sense of purpose and how we choose to fulfill it in our lives, whether through career or another venue. This theme is still very active in our process — in fact, it has yet to peak. As if that were not enough, we now have another theme entering the picture, one that has been there but dormant, in the background.
Before we get into the new theme, let's look at the old ones. Not only does this show us how we got to where we are now, but it allows us to complete, as much as is now possible, the old issues.
Although the peak of the self-other theme was over by mid-summer of this year, we are still dealing with the deepest underlying issue related to it through 1998. If we did not get to that issue during the time when it required our undivided attention, we will continue to have difficulty with it until the cosmos presents it to us again.
Indeed, even if we did get the lesson, it is not enough to encounter it only once. It takes many brushes with the same type of situation to ensure that we have a firm understanding that we have woven it into the fabric of our daily life, that it has induced an adjustment in attitude. Once the wisdom has jelled, has become completely integrated into our lives, we simply eliminate what can no longer be an option at the first glimpse of it, before we are even conscious of it. Even though it often takes a long time for us to experience this — that we no longer find the same inappropriate partner attracted to us, or we no longer make the same mistake in caring for ourselves — eventually we will find that our experiences are in harmony with our inner feelings, our intentions.
This fine-tuning process cannot be overlooked if we want to really learn something. Although our lessons are presented to us in broad brush-strokes, they ultimately require subtle shifts in attitude and approach. A new openness, removal of a small fear, a change in a time-honored belief, these are the substance on which our life's experiences, successes, and failures depend. They are the source of our happiness quotient: how fulfilled we are capable of being, regardless of how well our life is proceeding.
The way this works is thus: we have what I call a problem room and a happiness room. The problem room is a place where we put all our problems and issues. The happiness room is where we go when we allow ourselves to leave our problem room. Each room is a predetermined size, the larger the problem room, the smaller the happiness room is. When we have a lot of challenges in our life, our problem room is stuffed full, but it doesn't get any bigger; when our load lightens, we allow the problems we have to fill all available space. The room doesn't get any smaller either.
The room can only get smaller by changing our attitude toward our problems, toward life in general. As we learn to shrink our problem room, our happiness room grows. You can make your problem room disappear completely by redefining your problems into focuses (foci, for all you Latin scholars). This means reaching a state of detachment from the situation at hand, rather than emotional involvement with it. The problem room comes back when we forget to adhere to our new way of experiencing the events in our life.
Although this too is a shift in attitude, it is different from the process by which you come to understand each situation, so it becomes neither a candidate for problems nor a particular focus. When we open to a new, healthier attitude, we entirely erase an issue (whether we are emotionally attached to it or not) from our need for focus.
It may seem as though a shift in attitude is not enough. After all, even though we've heard that we create our reality, anyone who has tried affirmations expecting to create a miracle change in their life knows that it is not as easy as it sounds. It can be difficult to shift something that has resided in us for so many long lifetimes or certainly since early childhood, in so many cases.
Most of us do not realize how very profoundly our harmful attitudes affect us. We don't realize that, not only do they prevent us from seeing things in a more positive way, they make it impossible for us to be open to the creative spark of the moment because an attitude displaces openness. When we are not open, we experience blockage and fear. In order to be open, we must be willing to live in the gray area, where things are undefined, ambiguous, and where we may not be sure of how things stand. This is because in reality things do not stand. They flow and change. If we recognize this, we can live in the moment and put ourselves in the way of the creative force that brings the miracles into our life.
Sometimes this comes to us in the form of being able to see alternatives that would not have occurred to us were we in attitude. It is such sudden insights that give us the best solutions to many of our problems. If we are caught up in anxiety or following a strategy (both results of attitudes rather than openness), the perfect solution will not occur to us.
In the circuit of the planets through their cycles, one-fourth of each cycle is devoted to such symbolic processes as understanding, integration, gratitude, inner growth, and attitude adjustment. As I have mentioned before, our culture considers them counterproductive and so does not teach us their importance or how to execute them with skill. Surely, we have to know that something that occupies one-fourth of our time has to have some considerable significance.
If I have spent a lot of time and space on this topic in this and previous forecasts, it is also because, in addition to it being an overlooked and undervalued skill which we must employ to complete the self-other theme, it is also the core issue of the second theme mentioned above, integration.
The second theme carries a slightly different flavor when experienced on its own — that of blending spirit and matter, or our inner world of purpose into the outer world of expression. This happens when we focus our intent outward in a principled fashion. Difficulties arise when we don't have a sense of intent (ion), a purpose to inform our focus; when we are too scattered to focus our purpose; or when we have insufficient understanding of how the physical-emotional-mental world works (the arena into which we must express our intention).
This theme, with us since fall '96, crept up on us at first in pastel tones. It took on more brilliant hues in March of '97, until it washed over us in a wave of neon color at the end of February of this year. The cacophony of color that inundated us at that time should have brought to us in high relief knowledge of how we must resculpt our lives to be better able to focus purpose into intent into form. Without an awareness of our true inner nature — our True Self — we cannot know our purpose. Without knowledge of our purpose, we have no meaningful intention. With no meaningful intention, we cannot hold our focus. This results in a feeling of emptiness within. Although we can adhere to the values that family, culture and society have cast for us, unless they align with our True Self, we are living out a form without content. Although this brings worldly success in the short run, in the long run, it cannot be sustained. Rigid adherence to a form that does not emanate from who we really are results in unhappiness, rebellion, illness the kind of death-in-life we fear and yet see all around us.
If this is a common form of existence, it doesn't mean that we have to live that way; we can choose not to go down that road. When we take the time to do our inner work, we hook in to the natural process of manifesting our creativity in the world. Unless we stop it, it naturally flows into our life and fulfillment eventually results.
This theme will shift abruptly in August, when our next theme will come in full force. Even as we get our last chance at working with the integration theme for the time being, the next theme is beginning to be felt. It has actually been with us since the beginning of '96, but it has been a sleeper issue, without any resistance in our lives to trigger our awareness of it. That awareness is about to appear on the horizon. It will be the first glimpse of a theme that we will be dealing with into the year 2012 with varying levels of intensity. However, the upcoming period of emphasis will last through April 2001, with the peak occurring from August 1998 through June 2000.
Our new theme has to do in general with the ways that we achieve happiness (as in the happiness quotient mentioned above) and comfort in our lives. A feeling of unhappiness seems to be a symptom of the cultural malaise that so many are unable to shake. Although there are many sources for it, we do not have to suffer. We are meant to live in joy and fulfillment, but it is an acquired skill, the replacement of negatives with positives so that the negatives are not merely repressed but truly released.
Although this theme will not speak loudly to us until mid-August, we can listen for hints of what's to come, should we have any time to consider them in between the two themes that grab our attention now.
In the last forecast, I spoke of Venus's sojourn into the Underworld. Well, she has been out of the Underworld since early February, but she is still completing her third survey of the same field of experience through which she sojourned late last year before her descent. This means for us that we get a fresh look at the issues that were before us in November and December of last year, but with a wiser perspective. We know a little more about life where it has to do with value — money, possessions, relationships (value as love), and self-value (self-esteem/self-love). After all, the Goddess has spoken to us, and Her truth shall not be denied.
We are also embarking on one more round with Saturn in Aries. I have mentioned its process before, a part of the self-other theme, as an opportunity to come to know our True Self. A subtle overlay which we briefly visited last year during the summer will be felt again in the coming months, but will come to a head this time. This will have to do in part with the way that the world tries to treat us like mushrooms — keeps us in the dark and feeds us bull——. Just when we're trying out our new wings of the Self on the world, it will push back at us, telling us that that's not who we really are. It will try to thrust its old mask, or a new one, on us again.
Another thing it can bring is situations of long duration where there is no apparent progress, where we question whether or not to stay with it or break away/give up. This often occurs in relationships, but it can come in other forums (fora, for you Latin scholars) as well. We are being tested in our ability to adhere to the truth of our True Self, and under such pressure, we are tempted to lose faith. The status quo, what is statistically correct, and all our past conditioning have the opportunity to nag us at these times.
Even as we complete with Saturn in Aries, we are about to get a glimpse of what Saturn in Taurus will be like, and we will get to blend this into the mix, starting in June.
March
Allowing the Wave to Wash Over Us
If you recall, we experienced an extremely powerful eclipse at the end of February. We enter March as its effects begin to dawn on us.
This is such a strong time — energetically ten times stronger than the string of pearls or any other showy sky picture — that there will certainly be worldly events that scream for our attention. To get an indication of what they are, we can look at what was occurring in early September and late November of last year. In September, of course, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa died. This overshadowed all other news at the time, but already Saddam Hussein was in the news, as he was through late November, when his threats reached their peak. It seems likely that he will be there again at the time of this great eclipse. The Asian markets were also displaying volatility at that time, and we may see more of that.
Eclipses may bring an effect on the day of its occurrence, as it did in the Oklahoma City bombing, Princess Diana's death, or the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. It can also bring events in the month following its darkening effects, since it is a new moon where the moon completely or partially covers the sun.
It is as if the eclipse casts a long shadow that is experienced in a particular fashion. However, other major planetary events involving the sun will be experienced in the same rhythm. That rhythm is this: after the main event, we might call it an earthquake to provide a convenient metaphor, there will be aftershocks on a weekly basis until the sun moves into the next sign. In addition, we can think of what occurred in early September and late November as foreshocks. So, since the eclipse occurs on a Thursday, the next three Thursdays will be felt in the same way but with less intensity.
To key into what we might experience in our personal lives, we can look back to September and November as well. What was going on then will be brought up in our lives at the time of the eclipse. Of course, the theme of manifesting our purpose and intent into form will be evident. The power of this configuration is such that this is a good time to do ritual to invoke, but you must be very careful that your intent is pure, coming from the highest levels of self. Anything less will become very explosive.
Explosive is a very good word to use to describe the tone of the events that we are likely to experience at this time. The main pitfall we are likely to experience is overconfidence and high-flying ambition. While confidence is a necessary support to bold endeavors, too much of this good thing can lead to unwise risk-taking. Our ideals will be clear to us — in fact, we are likely to take the bit in our teeth and run! An awareness of the value of moderation will come in handy now, but if you are not a moderate person, there will be no natural inclination in that direction. The moderating planets are tucked away in corners for this planetary event.
Relationships are likely to be in the forefront of our minds at this time. We may be eager to put into effect the lessons we have learned over the past three months. We may be ready to jump ship in the relationship we are in, or we may become starry-eyed and make commitments to an image born of our own wishful thinking.
At its best, this eclipse will bring ideas and issues to light which can then be worked with constructively or healed This is the real work of the next six months, if we will but embrace it. Illness, or at least pain, is likely to be a part of the process, but pain is meant to be part of a constructive process. It is our bodies' way of letting us know that we need to stop doing something! It is more likely to be emotional or psychic pain, but it can come out as physical pain and illness if we do not deal with it successfully at more subtle levels.
As if being dreamy is not enough, we may find ourselves impetuous after the 4th of the month! Much of this focus will be used to rectify what was discovered to be wrong in January. Communication may not flow smoothly, but we will discover the fatal flaw that led us astray in our way of perceiving things, particularly in relationships, up to this time. The romance may be over, the idol, fall to the ground, but it is better to see things as they really are.
We'll be unraveling the knotted-up threads of our misunderstandings as we encounter those Thursdays. In particular, the full moon of the 12th, which is also a lunar eclipse, will bring greater release, even a sense of forgiveness, which must first be felt toward ourselves before we can extend it others. Forgiveness must be a part of the release, if the release is to be complete, because what we can't forgive we hold on to. It makes it easier for us to forgive ourselves if we have learned (or can learn) to honor ourselves and respect where we are at, no matter what mistakes we have made. If we can do this, it is easier to take responsibility for our errors, because we know that it is okay to acknowledge them, correct, and forgive them and move on. It then becomes possible for us to forgive others because we remember our own mistakes and how long it took us to learn.
We may be surprised at the outcome of all this during the third week of the month. Expect the unexpected — the air may clear in ways we couldn't anticipate. Things may take a serious turn around the 24th that will be ameliorated if we have faced the music thus far. This will lay the groundwork for the Mercury retrograde to come on the 27th.
Contrary to popular belief, this is nothing to fear. It merely brings us to redress the connective and communicative glitches in what we have created and experienced over the past few months. It's a good thing that this happens as often as it does, because when such problems pile up, they can create mountains out of molehills. If we have been straight, square and great during the previous Mercury cycle (3+ months); we will find this time very easy. In the meantime, we can rest content in the knowledge that all ills will be redressed if they possibly can be during this time.
It is wise to plan for a little downtime (but isn't this true at any time?), and it may be a good time to reverse your priorities — get to those things at the bottom of your list.
I always look forward to Mercury retrogrades, because the God of Communication speaks more loudly to me during that time. I enjoy not having to tune my ear so delicately to His normal whispers. Since I enjoy it when the truth becomes known, I do not fear Mercury's revelations.
Mercury also has to do with our focus. Since what we focus on is what we create, I know that if I expect Mercury retrograde to be disruptive periods to be feared, that is exactly what I will get. I will prove to myself that this is so! Instead, I recommend that we all set our intention that Mercury retrogrades be times when we experiences the gifts of Mercury. However, that intention cannot be set until Mercury goes direct — Mercury does the talking during the retrograde!
Mercury is also the other gods' (planets') messenger. This time He will bring the messages of Saturn and Mars. The seeds for the events of the Mercury retrograde will have been planted on the 10th and 24th of this month, in large part. If we have done consistently well in our self-discipline; if we face our responsibilities as a routine; if we have learned to recognize and temper the ego in its many guises, we will do well at this time. Of course, if we are still working on balancing these areas of our character, we will encounter challenges that all the same can be surmounted.
April
Effort Brings Reward And a Few Surprises!
We will have been working hard to meet deadlines since early March, and it's time for a breather. After the 2nd, we'll get it. Although there is power in what we do now, and we won't want to leave the job done to imperfection, we are likely to be able to call it finished about now. If we aren't complete by this time, we will be in the next few days. After all, there are other projects standing in line after this one.
Remember that Mercury is retrograde when we start the month, but don't let that stop you from going with the flow. Mercury may seem to inconvenience you over the next three weeks, but it is only bringing out what was already there (it is only the messenger and focuser). Would you rather not know about it?
The Mercury retrograde climaxes on the 6th — it's okay to move ahead if you're ready. Communication efforts should go well.
On or around the 9th, new layers of the eclipse issues will rise to the surface. This will be true in our personal lives as well as the world around us. Whatever comes out at this time will be the seed for a long-term plan. It will be something that will have a 1year phase to it and another that will be completed over the next 20 years (it actually will have its origin in events and experiences of 10 years ago). Take note of this time; we will participate in events related to what goes on now on April 13th, July 26th, August 15th, October 23rd, December 29th,and January 19th (1999). This yearlong process is one in which we are successful if we take on the big projects that take more than a year to complete. While there is always a segment of the project that is completed in a year, remember the long-term plan; reaffirm and adjust it at this time. This cycle also has to do with being responsible and keeping our commitments. Commitments and resolutions that are made now are more likely to be kept. If you want something to last, use this time to your advantage.
Although it peaks around the 11th to 13th with the full moon, this energetic pattern will be with us until the 19th, when the sun's entry into Taurus signals a shift in focus. If you pay attention to what occurs over the next month, you will find that you can tune in to the theme which will come out more explicitly in August and how it will impact your life. We get our first substantial glimpse of this from the 15th, the 22nd, again on the 29th, and on Sundays and Mondays from the 19th and 20th through the 17th and 18th of May (foreshock dates related to August's theme).
On or near the 22nd, the cycle of spirituality and inner truth that began on January 19th comes more clearly into focus due to events occurring at that time. Anticipate further action on May 3rd, July 23rd, October 11th, and October 22nd.
May
Firmness Encounters Resistance
We can already see that the stage is set for more fully experiencing the theme of August. It seems as though we suddenly find our backbone and every reason why things should remain as they are, so we put on the brakes. From this perspective, we may feel as though we have cause for regret, but it is important to remember that this is just one way of looking at the situation, and another may be just as valid.
May begins for most pagans and many secular cultures with a celebration of Beltane, or May Day. For the cultures from which this celebration sprang, it was considered the beginning of summer; our beginning of summer was called mid-summer. Indeed, the light does now have precedence over the darkness, and we can stay out partying all night, as was the custom in ancient times. For those who experience winter as a time of cold and bare survival, it is a relief to come to the time of year when the days are warm and comfort levels are higher. Pleasure is the keynote of this celebration, but its roots are in the joy of spring and the summer to come. For those who correlate the celebration with the solar event it was meant to mark, the solar cross quarter occurs on the 5th this year.
On the 3rd, if we are resisting the flow, we will get a jolt. This relates to events experienced on or about January 28th. At times like these it is good to remember that life and progress do not proceed in a straight line. Miracles and accidents can happen, and accidents can be miracles in disguise. Other related dates are May 17th, August 3rd, October 18th, and November 11th.
Two cycles are active today, including the one related to spirituality. Accordingly, we may find ourselves fogged-in as our inner life becomes (usually temporarily) more real than our external life. We may feel as if we're living a dream. Our imagination will be powerful at this time as well, so take your time in sorting out fact from fiction when it really counts.
The 3rd through the 12th may be a good time to clear areas of woundedness, because they are likely to surface during this time. A wound is any part of ourself that is in pain, whether physical or more subtle. It is important to allow yourself to go into your wound in order to become aware of it, but to heal it, you must become larger than the wound and replace it with light. With the full moon on the 11th, this day and the 12th are especially good for such releases, and they may occur without our prompting or effort at this time.
The last hit on the communicative issues that arose at the end of March occurs on the 12th, give or take a day. Do what you can, and then surrender to the higher powers, for they will be speaking to us loudly through the end of the month.
On the 18th, we reach the next milestone date in the cycle of accidents and miracles. The nature of what is lined up for you in the coming months with respect to this cycle should be clear after this date.
We leave resistance behind and enter a more confrontational energy pattern when the sun enters Gemini on the 27th. The coming zodiacal month will bring more aftershocks related to the eclipse which culminates on the 27th. We will have weekly encounters with this pattern in ourselves starting on the new moon of the 25th and every Monday through the 15th.
Things may seem very serious now, but they are by no means resolved. Take a long-term look at what is happening in your life right now. Does what you put into it in the past stand up to close examination? Are you willing to be patient and allow things to develop on their own over the rest of this year? If you are, then you are working with the planetary cycles instead of against them. May you find it in your Self to be gentle with yourself and those around you as you walk through the upcoming planetary doorways.
Blessed be!
Terry Lamb is an astrologer and healer and mother of two boys. She offers a full range of personal and business services as an astrologer and a variety of techniques as an energetic healer. This column arises out of the convergence of her training in both fields. She can be reached for bookings and appointments (locally or long-distance) at 619-589-1774 or tlamb@flash.net. Check out her website at www.flash.net/tlamb | 
