Connecting with Nature approaching Midsummer

I Am the Sun

I am the Sun -

And I bear with my might

The earth by day, the earth by night.

I hold her fast, and my gifts I bestow

To everything on her, so that it may grow:

Man and stone, flower and bee

All receive their light from me.

Open thy heart like a little flower,

That with my light I may thee dower:

Open thy heart, dear child, to me,

That we together one light may be.

Christian Morgenstern

Midsummer

The celebration of Midsummer's Eve has been linked to the summer solstice since ancient times. The solstice falls on June 21; Midsummer’s Eve on June 24; and the Feast of St. John is observed during this time as well. Some hold the belief that Elizabeth, John’s mother, built a large bonfire to notify her cousin, Mary, of the birth of her child, that she might come to share in her joy. Since many customs of midsummer festivals blend with aspects of St. John’s life, the two festivals have become interwoven in many regions of the world.

While wind and air are the themes and symbols of Whitsun, the Summer Solstice and the Feast of St. John share the theme and symbol of the sun—the element of fire. In the language of the young child, King Sun is sitting highest on his throne at this time. It is wonderful to weave stories and songs, plays and verses filled with images of the sun and the fairy-folk, flowers and garland-making, animals and insects, all thriving in the ripeness of the season’s harvest.

This is the time to celebrate the essence of the St. John’s feast—connecting to the wisdom of the spirit through light. 


The bonfires at Midsummer and the Feast of St. John represent this connection and allow us to truly feel the warmth and power from above and within. Let the children feel their strength and fire.

Families and communities might gather for bonfires at both Midsummer and St. John’s. These flames symbolize the power of the spirit to transform the past and ‘burn up’ the old and unwanted elements of our nature.

You may want to participate in this wonderful old tradition if it is legal in your community and light an outdoor fire in an appropriate place. Proceed with due caution, of course, and make sure your fire will not be a hazard. 

There is something truly magical about a fire at night in midsummer. Let everyone participate in gathering the kindling, branches, and logs. Watch the expression of awe and amazement on the children’s faces as the flames leap and jump.

 Feel the peace, calm, and serenity that settles in as you tell stories and share nourishment together around a fire. Return home with fresh-strung garlands and glowing images that will nurture your dreams.

2. Build, build fires that leap and flicker,

Bright fires crowing lofty mountains.

Light, light radiance for all people

Life, warmth, for all living things

3. Jump, jump! High above the firelight

High, high, higher than the sunset

Jump, jump, grain will grow and ripen,

High, high, high as you can rise.

Fairy Gifts

On Midsummer night, children can put little cakes or hand made gifts out for the fairies. Help them chose a lovely spot in the garden or woods where they feel the fairies especially like to come. The children wake in the morning to find their gifts are gone and in their place is a special treasure for them from the fairies such as a crystal or tiny fairy doll.

I Am the Sun

I am the Sun -

And I bear with my might

The earth by day, the earth by night.

I hold her fast, and my gifts I bestow

To everything on her, so that it may grow:

Man and stone, flower and bee

All receive their light from me.

Open thy heart like a little flower,

That with my light I may thee dower:

Open thy heart, dear child, to me,

That we together one light may be.

Christian Morgenstern

While the bees are busy, we humans can take some time off to enjoy Midsummer, a romantic festival filled with dances, games of love divination, and frolicking of all sorts.
 
In Eastern Europe, Ukrainians call this holiday Kupalo, after a pagan god of love and the harvest, who sleeps under a tree during the winter and awakens in the warm weather.  On Kupalo’s eve,   unmarried men and women gathered in the woods to perform dances, sing songs and do what the spirit moved them to do to honor this lusty god.  The women wove flowers into wreaths that were tossed into the river; these were used in divination for the young woman could determine what family she would marry into by watching to see where the wreath drifted ashore. 
 
On Midsummer night, Ukrainian men searched the forest for a type of fern that only would bloom at this time.  It was guarded by seductive wood nymphs whose temptation they had to resist, of course. To harvest the flower, they drew a circle around the fern with a white powder, cut off the blossom with a knife, and wrapped the flower in a sacred cloth.  If they could keep silent about finding the elusive flower, they would enjoy a superhuman strength.
 
In Poland, wildflower wreaths – or wianki – were also used in divinations on Midsummer’s night.  A wildflower wreath, studded with lit candles, was placed in the water. If the wreath circled in eddies, marriage would occur later rather than sooner.  If it floated away fast, marriage would happen quickly.  If it touched another floating garland, only friendship would result.  As in the Ukraine, if it ran ashore, it indicated where the potential husband lived.  Perhaps more efficiently, if a man removed the wreath from the water, oooh la la!  A night of love would soon ensue, posthaste.
 
Wreaths also have their place in the Nordic Midsummer celebrations, where they are worn on women’s heads.  Finnish women pick seven types of wildflowers and place them under their pillows at night to dream of their future husbands. 
 
I have been fortunate enough to experience two summers with their endless nights in Finland. I was quite young when I visited Finland (7 and 9 years old) and don’t have a particular memory of Midsummer Eve itself (probably missing it because of my school schedule).  In Finland, the day is called Juhannus, after St. John, and is celebrated with a bonfire or kokko (these bonfires are reminiscent of the Nordic midsummer “Balder’s balefires,” which were named after the Norse god). I certainly remember Finnish nights in general — how late the sun set, and the magic of sitting outdoors on summer nights filled with light, eating freshly-picked raspberries or perhaps taking a sauna. 

Edited by Susannah Andrews
copied and pasted by Susannah Andrews from these sites:

http://schooloftheseasons.com/newletters/news061105.html

http://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/06/09/midsummers-day-st-johns-tide-day/

and other sites linked up to the above sites.

Learning naturally

Learning naturally


by Susannah Andrews


Children and adults learn all the time. Of course children need to learn a lot more, this is why they go to school.
Right?
Wrong!
For me, the way I see it, children learn as they go along...from Mummy and Daddy, nanny, or carer, siblings and other adults who spend time with them.

Children learn from watching and imitating adults but also their friends and siblings, especially older children.
















Children learn by doing, with action and movement and with real life experience, such as sweeping, chopping, stirring, washing, holding something heavy, carrying, pushing, pulling carts/trolleys, building, making, creating,
sticking paper, threading needles, etc...
Children learn through play. 

Playing they imitate the world around them, they need to have stimuli! An adult working with their hands, doing domestic or artistic activities.

Sitting down and looking at a mobile phone or clicking the mouse in front of the computer, might be 'work' for some adults but it looks like not much to the children who observe us!
Reading a book has more purpose. The slower pace feeds our brain in a different way; when we read a book our breathing slows down and our heart beat is slower and more steady.
When children ask the usual question starting with 'Why?' - we need to pause and think, then try to simplify our thoughts and give a clear and brief answer ( that may lead the children to more 'Why'?).
This is for me a clever way or finding out information; the natural way for children is to get to the original question and investigate through and through, with a chain of questions that lead to other questions, which don't really call for an answer, but for reassurance more than anything. They need to know that by using this process they get to more questions and not necessarily a straight answer...
By a certain age, when they are confident with reading, they can find information from specialized books, like 'All about Mammals' and similar ones. The process of doing a research needs to be shown to children around 10 year old upwards. How to gather information, writing down and finding different sources of information. The natural way for younger children is to ask a grown up, so, next, they need to know how to 'ask a book'.

Real life is much more meaningful to children and if experiencing something with all their senses the learning comes naturally as living it fully brings a deeper understanding.


I show you some principles used in unschooling which match my approach to education.


Unschooling is an  alternative approach, also known as "natural learning", "experience-based learning", or "independent learning".

Principles of Unschooling Learning happens all the time. The brain never stops working and it is not possible to divide time up into "learning periods" versus "non-learning periods." Everything that goes on around a person, everything they hear, see, touch, smell, and taste, results in learning of some kind. Learning does not require coercion. In fact, learning cannot really be forced against someone's will. Coercion feels bad and creates resistance. Learning feels good. It is satisfying and intrinsically rewarding. Irrelevant rewards can have unintended side effects that do not support learning. Learning stops when a person is confused. All learning must build on what is already known. Learning becomes difficult when a person is convinced that learning is difficult. Unfortunately, most teaching methods assume learning is difficult and that lesson is the one that is really "taught" to the students. Learning must be meaningful. When a person doesn't see the point, when they don't know how the information relates or is useful in "the real world," then the learning is superficial and temporary - not "real" learning. Learning is often incidental. This means that we learn while engaged in activities that we enjoy for their own sakes and the learning happens as a sort of "side benefit." Learning is often a social activity, not something that happens in isolation from others. We learn from other people who have the skills and knowledge we're interested in and who let us learn from them in a variety of ways. We don't have to be tested to find out what we've learned. The learning will be demonstrated as we use new skills and talk knowledgeably about a topic. Feelings and intellect are not in opposition and not even separate things. All learning involves the emotions, as well as the intellect. Learning requires a sense of safety. Fear blocks learning. Shame and embarrassment, stress and anxiety - these block learning.

To finish my article I like to share with you this article from BBC news today. Happy reading and happy teaching
( PS switch off the PC after reading, go for a walk with your child, come home and bake some bread!)

Learning 'infantilised' by relying on internet

By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent

Helen Fraser says learning should be like a slow casserole and not an instant nugget

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Texts in bed 'impair learning'
• Oxford develops digital textbook
• Microsoft warns schools of IT gap

The culture of clicking online for instant answers risks "infantilising" learning, says the head of a charity which runs independent girls schools.

Helen Fraser will warn delegates of the Girls' Day School Trust about the risk of pupils relying on "nuggets of information" from the internet.

She says that children should be reading whole books, rather than gathering a few shallow impressions.

Deeper learning takes time, she says, like a "slow casserole".

Ms Fraser is to give her warning against the intellectual equivalent of fast food to the annual conference of the Girls' Day School Trust, which runs 24 independent schools and two academies.

'Switch off'

"I do worry that the ease of access to nuggets of information means that our appetites are becoming infantilised.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Research shouldn't just mean 'look it up on Google'”

Helen FraserGirls' Day School Trust

"We're so used to fast facts that we're in danger of losing sight of the truth that some learning is more of a slow casserole, with knowledge stewing in our minds to form a richer, deeper flavour," Ms Fraser will tell the conference on Wednesday.

"So I'm a firm believer in the importance for our students of switching off the computer, the radio, the smartphone, the TV, and any other distractions, and reading a whole book - I would say from cover to cover."

Ms Fraser says she is concerned about the way that quick-fix answers from internet search engines can leave children with a lack of awareness of different views and a one-dimensional view of topics.

"I want to bring back thinking - and I think a lot of what happens on the internet is antipathetic to thinking and suggests there is no alternative view," says Ms Fraser, the trust's chief executive.

Learning should be about engaging with ideas, rather than "regurgitating facts", she says.

Screen age

Reaching for the search engine is not the best way of finding the value of competing and sometimes contradictory perspectives, she argues.

Ms Fraser, a former managing director of Penguin Books, says that schools need to create the space for children to think creatively around a subject.

But she says that it is hard to challenge the instant gratification of online answers when it is imbued from an early age.

"Two-year-olds are playing with their mothers' iPhones. It's a generation which looks to screens for stimulation," she says.

Ms Fraser says she is not against digital technology - and that educational software can provide useful motivation - but she is worried that an over-reliance on computers can leave children with only a superficial understanding or the belief that there is only one "right" answer.

"Research shouldn't just mean 'look it up on Google'," she says.

And in her conference speech she will speak of the importance of young people engaging with a whole book, rather than a few highlights.

"I'm not really bothered whether it's paper or an e-book, the important thing is that it's read from start to finish - following an author's train of thought, through perhaps some complex arguments and situations, from first principles through to their conclusion.

"It's only by learning deeply about and around a subject that you can truly hope to master it."

Macrobiotic Gathering 2012

So it's over, and already looking forward to the next one!
Such a lovely Big House and wonderful children and very interesting people to meet and share this unique community experience.
So this is what we did in the order from more to less:
eating
eating
eating
being creative
chat
sharing
learning
yoga
walking
sleeping
relaxing




but mind , I kind of relaxed in a weird way as I didn't have to cook for 4 days and had less children to look after than usual!


All children were a pleasure to be with! It is the truth; they are all so special in their unique way.
Of course I can't put photos of the children without the parent's permission here so these are just general images and now I let them just speak by themselves...

A slice of the garden!

The 'Rainbow' Playroom or children's room

Weaving 'God's Eyes'

And felting

Gathering by the Bonfire




Love and Light




xxx


Susannah

KUSAMA at Tate modern

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 Such madness and chaos in London today; a sea of people, waves of crowds wizzing past us towards the river, it was quite frantic and scary to be honest, My friend Chrissie and I were pleased we were going to a relatively peaceful and quiet area to see some art...

So...we didn't see the Queen, no...just a lot of madness...
like people trying to get a glimpse of the river from the bridge and the river walk...it was packed, under a grey sky...which later burst into heavy tears ( of joy?)...which hopefully meant no nasty smoke and fumes of burnt meat from BBQ in my neighbourhood!!


So we went up to the 4th level of Tate Modern and saw the crowds on the river!

We were glad to be inside the art gallery!
I went to see this artist with a blank and fresh mind - not knowing much about her...but images of her past work came back to me and suddenly all these crazy stuff came to me like an underground train in a tunnel and like those madhouses in the funfair...


It is clear from her work that a lot of the stuff she created was due to trips of her mind...with this I couldn't quite connect as I never took drugs...but it was still interesting and she was very much a real sixties artist!



Let me introduce you to Kusama's amazing work. Such fun!





Her work is very interesting, quirky and frankly quite mad!


I like to thank my friend Svetlana for this opportunity as she passed on her tickets to me and my friend Chrissie, who is an artist herself, was thrilled!


So these images are just a little sample of the exhibition and the mood it created!





http://kusamadocumentary.com/

This is the introductory documentary we saw before we went in to see her work.

We both loved this room, such vibrant colours...the motifs looked very primitive, like aboriginal drawings...some shapes primordial, some looked like cells under a microscope...some drawings and paintings reminded me a bit of Miro and Matisse as well...

A polka-dot has the form of the sun which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life…

This, said by artistYayoi Kusama, only hits at her obsession with repetition. Her ability to attach meaning to a simple “dot” is intriguing and unique. Kusama believes polka-dots create “movement.” Her use of repetition enhances the boldness of these polka-dotted pieces.

Yayoi Kusama began to paint when she was about ten years old. Colored dots, the so-called polka dots, and nets were her motifs right from the beginning. Kusama initially created fantastic watercolours, pastel and oil paintings. Soon after her arrival in New York, she produced five, nearly monochromatic paintings: white grid structures on a white background. Rather than being repeated at regular intervals as with a pattern, Kusama's structures expanded like nets, without a beginning, end or center. Although they don't adhere to any established rules of order or symmetry, they nonetheless convey a certain balance. The artist herself has associated these structures with the terms "endlessness" and "nothingness" time and again. Soon her nets cover not just canvases but entire rooms. Phallus-shaped protuberances grow out of the ground and out of all possible objects: bulging cloth sacks, saturated with polka dots. 

Kusama has remained true to this form language throughout her life.

With Kusama's body paintings the object painted with dots loses its status of an adult, drifting back into a state of non- or pre-sexual innocence and anonymity. Kusama removes an individual's uniqueness by painting its body with polka dots, referring to this process as "obliteration." In an appeal very much in keeping with the spirit of the 1960s, she declares, "Burn Wall Street. Wall Street men must become farmers and fishermen... Obliterate the men of Wall Street with polka dots on their naked bodies." She believes that when individuality is obliterated, a fusion with the universe is possible. "Our earth is only one polka dot among millions of others. When Kusama paints your body with polka dots you become part of the unity of the universe," promises the artist in a press release from 1968.

Chrissie entering the neon lit room with million of dots, reflected by water and angled mirrors...it was like being amongst the stars...

I was caught looking around and towards the reflections, but at the end infinity wins and the eye can't cope with the installation as it has nothing to focus on...for sure I lost myself in the infinity of the cosmos for a little while and had to leave the room!






Chrissie and I walked under the rain back home to a lovely warm bath and relaxing time, with candles and good food...


xxx


My little Jubilee...


more like an inward - quiet journey...


meaning:rejoicing or jubilation.

Full Moon ~ Flower Moon ~

The full moon of June 2012 will dip through Earth’s shadow through a partial lunar eclipse before Venuscrosses the face of the sun in a rare transition, according to recent reports by several international news sites, June 3, 2012.

Based on reports, a partial eclipse of the Moon will be visible over western North America just before sunrise on June 4, 2012.

Moreover, reports from Space.com mentioned nearly two-fifths of the moon will slowly slip into the Earth’s umbral shadow.

Although the moon will remain bright throughout the partial lunar eclipse of June 4, it will be set in a starrybackground: just inside the border of the non-zodiacal constellation of Ophiuchus, about 6 degrees above and left of the star Antares.

Recent reports said the event will also mark the last chance to see Venus pass between Earth and the Sun in the 21st century. The 2012 transit of Venus is the last one visible from Earth until 2117.

The Full Moon of June is usually called the Flower Moon. In Algonquin tribe, it is called Strawberry Moon, since the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June, reports added.

Power Path ~ June Forecast 2012: Creativity

 2 June 2012 - 7:01pm |  Qharmony

Channeler:  Lena Stevens www.thepowerpath.com The theme for June is CREATIVITY Sub-theme: Vision This month there are two themes that will be working together, Creativity and Vision, Creativity being the more feminine and primary expression of the influences and Vision the more masculine and secondary expression. Both will be active this month and will provide you with opportunities and lessons and a powerful potential for growth and change. The role of the year is Artisan and we get to fully explore the artisan archetype this month. What is artisan energy? How does the artisan navigate though life and how can you tap into your own creativity and source of your vision? The artisan this year primarily teaches us to be more creative in our perception, to develop our intuitive side, and to become comfortable with the destructive element needed to initiate and complete the paradigm shift. This is not so much about creating anything on the physical but more about learning to be more creative in your attitude, approach to life, perception of reality and intention. It is said that 90 percent of artisan creativity is what happens on the astral plane (dream state) and by the time this creativity gets to the physical plane it has only 10 percent of the artisans energy behind it. Artisans are not usually attached to the end result of their creativity as much as they are attached to the creative process. It is everyone else around them that is usually way more attached to what that artisan has created. A good deal of the month will be about letting go of your attachments to how things should be done and your perception of the process needed to create certain things in life. It is about releasing your judgments and becoming neutral in order to hold duality and polarization in a new light. You need to view them neutrally as part of the same tapestry of life and as perfect in their order. This will also mitigate your reactions, as reactions are never neutral and always lead to a fixed position which blocks creativity. It is also imperative for you to become more and more flexible as a necessary ingredient to maximizing your ability to be as creative as you need to be in this time of great change. You will notice that wherever you are attached to a certain way things should be done or a certain habitual practice or set of rules, your creativity in this area is limited. The more rigid you are, the less creative. Even an artist that produces the same perfect art over and over again may be expressing more productivity rather than true creativity. Observe where you have become habitual perhaps producing the same thing over and over again. Contemplate expanding the possibilities of how that process could change. There are two elements this month that you should try and include in your environment and your experience whenever possible. Beauty is extremely important as an agent of inspiration. Beauty is different for everyone but you all know when you are around it. It could come through sound, vision, physical sensation or smell. Beauty makes higher centered experiences possible and inspires creativity. Another important element is Sensuality in terms of awakening and expanding your Senses, becoming more Sensitive to your environment and more present with how you react to and absorb stimuli from nature, other people, temperature, air, sun etc. The more you develop your sensitivity, the more heightened your experience of Beauty will be, which inspires your creativity. Try and spend some time being with how the sun feels on your skin or the breeze on your face or what the smell of good cooking does to your emotions. Bask in a beautiful sunset and open your sense of sight to the energy behind all living things. The gist of the times is that we can step into a richer, deeper and dimensionally fuller experience of life if we are ready What is Creativity? Creativity is a potent and fluid energy that moves you to perceive what is possible outside your seemingly fixed reality. A creative chef will always experiment with a set of ingredients, combining them in new ways to achieve a new taste that is stimulating to the senses and expresses beauty. The most creative chefs work intuitively and without tried and true recipes. And sometimes they fail, but often they end up creating new and wonderful recipes for others to follow. In exploring creativity you have to be comfortable with an experiment gone bad as long as you acknowledge that it did not work and move on to something else. Some of the worst dressed people are artisans and the hideous fashion statements we see are all due to artisan creativity and experimentation. However some of the best corporate managers are also artisans as they can think outside the box to problem solve and lead their team into new innovations through their creative vision. This year all of us have the opportunity to put on the artisan hat, problem solve by thinking outside the box, and take ourselves beyond the confines of the old paradigm to a new level of vibration, a new vision and an expanded sense of what is possible. The challenge for many of you may be the feeling of loss of focus, structure and direction, and the fear that you will be sucked into the quicksand of creative chaos. Nostalgia for what has been before is a real experience this month as we let go more and more of the old paradigm. There has been a certain comfort in the known routines even if they did lack inspiration and creativity. This could come for you this month as a non-specific sadness and even a sense of depression. Creativity and destructions are two sides to the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. So as you contemplate expending your creativity, be prepared for something to dissolve to make way for that expansion. If you approach this with flexibility and willingness and beauty and sensuality, it will be much easier than if you resist. Both the destructive and creative aspects of the month will show up from explosive to more subtle so be prepared. Where does Vision fit in? Vision is related to intention but it is what comes before intention. It is a grasp of the direction your creativity wishes to take you. If the creative source is the feminine, Vision is the approach of the masculine offering to take creativity into form. The whole process this month is about reversing our imprint of how things actually work. Many of us have been taught that you have to have the vision first and then you set your intention and then you infuse that intention with creativity to make it happen. That puts the masculine first and the feminine second. And therein lies the disconnect. Pure unorganized creativity, the void, chaos, inspiration and beauty have to come first. We must become comfortable with this space of holding all possibilities without form. Then the vision and intention and organization will follow naturally and without any effort. Chaos never remains unorganized for long. This is one of the principles of the universe and we must let go of our need to always control the chaos we perceive around us. The need to control chaos is rooted in the fear of the feminine and thus breeds a fear of creativity, destruction and change. This space of holding creativity without form may be uncomfortable for many of you, but if you resist the urge to control it you will be rewarded with Vision coming in its own time. Vision is not necessarily intellectually clear. In fact is will be more potent if it is emotionally or intuitively clear. You may not understand intellectually what you are feeling or sensing but it will seem right. Learn to follow a new set of signals and guiding principles. And remember that help is always around. All you have to do is ask. The challenges this month: Feeling scattered and unable to handle the chaos Feeling stuck in your routines with no way out Being uncomfortable with the sense of drifting without purpose Depression, lethargy or feeling unmotivated Anxiety related to lack of control Extreme sadness or nostalgia over perceived loss Feeling alone, lonely, flat, weird and disconnected Feeling like you really do not know what to do next Fear and dread of how the future may unfold The opportunities this month: Finally letting go of some really old baggage, patterns and imprints Rebooting your creativity Accessing a whole new level of information, wisdom and downloads Finding new solutions that were not there before to old problems Manifesting previously unimaginable things (keep them positive) Higher centered experiences of love, beauty, awe Miracles, new vision, ideas and bursts of creativity A heightened sense of well-being and inspired excitement about what the future holds How the month shows up: YOU PERSONALLY This month will be either very challenging or extremely inspiring. Those of you that are comfortable with chaos and destruction and the artisan energy should be fine as long as you stay disciplined about your boundaries. Know the difference between your own chaos and that of others’ that may bleed over into your space. This month you have the opportunity to really change how you perceive and how you create. Follow the rule of allowing things to be just as they are and make sure you are not reacting and getting stuck in a resistant place. Keep the attitude that what you perceive is not necessarily how it is, and if you can stay flexible and in the actual experience of being a creative energy source, you will make room for a new vision for your life to emerge. This month provides an extraordinary opportunity for personal growth and change especially in your experience of your own intuition, ability to manifest miracles and to truly feel like you are the one in charge of your life. Watch for self-deprecation and martyrdom and remember that in times of opportunity there is no room for whining and complaining. Practice being neutral. RELATIONSHIPS This is a good month for relationships and truth-telling. Good communication about what has been perceived rightly or wrongly will heal many relationships that have gone south due to lack of good communication and due to differences in personal perception and vision. There is also an opportunity here to reignite stale relationship dynamics with creativity, beauty and awe. Find the awesomeness in everyone you meet and that will raise your level of vibration in how you relate to others. You will want to be a bit more social this month as community and being with others will stimulate creativity and will also help to naturally organize any chaos. Beware of the quicksand of others’ chaos and keep good boundaries at the same time as being available and connected. Relationships that fall apart this month will be ones that are too resistant to the creative energy that wants to bring about change, newness and innovation. The heightened awareness of beauty will inspire all of us to be better, to take better care of ourselves and our external presentation, try some new things and strive to be the best we can be. Beware of the self-deprecation that says you can never be better. You are as good as it gets and that is not very good. Do not listen to that voice. It is the wrong one. Intimacy is also heightened this month and there is a desire for more essence contact. Practice seeing spirit in everyone and contemplate that oneness that holds us all. THE ENVIRONMENT The environment is likely to act out the more destructive part of the creative theme of the month. Explosive creativity is also a probability although it would be likely seen as a destructive event. Fire, flood, high wind, volcanic activity, and any changes in the earth’s landscape due to natural phenomena are all possible as a creative expression of the planet. We are also in a time that we are much more influenced by celestial events of the planets, the sun, the moon, star clusters and meteor activity. Discoveries in the sky will outshine anything that occurs on the earth as they will be more unbelievable and fantastic. We will gain a new sense of appreciation and knowledge of just how influential the heavens are in our lives and how affected the earth is by what goes on in the sky. This is all part of the process or supporting the healing and rebalancing of the masculine and feminine principles as the masculine is related to the sky realm and the feminine to the earth. And to state it in shamanic simplicity, Creativity is of the earth and Vision is of the sky. In your personal environment, focus on beauty and inspiration. If your environment does not reflect that, clean it up, get rid of clutter and unsightly things, purge the old and make sure you have flowers on your table. HEALTH AND THE PHYSICAL BODY You will be inspired in a new way this month to be healthy, fit, healed, beautiful, rested and balanced. Do whatever it takes to take care of yourself and take advantage of the creativity of the month to make changes in your relationship with your body. If you have been perceiving your body as weak and ineffectual, you will need to do some work around changing that perception. The body needs to be seen as a highly creative mechanism that is capable of creating anything. We have seen how effective it is at creating illness and unwanted conditions. There has been a huge focus in trying to limit the body’s creativity in that direction. The change here is to encourage the body to be creative but to give it a different set of instructions that will lead to creating optimal health and well-being. It is your love, awe and gratitude that will encourage it in the right direction. If you are experiencing its creativity of an illness, any resistance to it will limit the creativity moving in the right direction. So be in love, awe and gratitude for whatever it is creating and then give it a different set of instructions. Physical challenges, expressions and opportunities this month may include immune disorders and the opportunity to heal them, viruses and the opportunity for healing them, growths of all kinds, cancers and the opportunity to heal them, and conditions that are un diagnosable in the current medical system. Your energy levels may go up and down and that will be directly related to what you are doing and how you perceive where you are. If you should not be doing it, it will exhaust you. If you are inspired by what you are doing, you will feel energized and motivated. Get plenty of rest.