12 Dec ALACAZEM 2013.12.12
December 12 to 19, 2013 Visible Planets: Morning: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Evening: Venus
Believing in religion is a lot like believing in fairy tales. Mystical, magical stories of heroes and heroines, impossible tasks and amazing miracles. Walking on water and virgin births, fairy godmothers, benevolent kings and evil queens. We truly want to believe, and many do. Something in our hearts accepts the out-of-this world accounts of apparitions and ascensions, flying dragons and magic carpets. Miraculous stories inspire hope, fuel imagination and shine rays of light upon our sometimes darkened path in life.
December 12th is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe – el dia de la Nuestra Senora Maria de Guadalupe – the day of celebration for the Mexican virgin, the Queen of Mexico, the Mother of the Americas. And who is Our Lady of Guadalupe?
La Virgen de Guadalupe is a hybrid Madonna born in the Heart of the One World – Mexico, Tenochtitlan – out of a dramatic clash of cultures, power and beliefs. Indigenous peoples, Aztec shamans, Spanish conquistadors and Catholic priests met and merged in a land of flower and song, but it was also a land of human sacrifice, vast treasures of gold and jade, a civilization both highly evolved and drastically primitive. Many were killed. Rivers of blood ran in the streets. In the name of God and Jesus Cristo, the Spanish prevailed. Twelve years following the Conquest, in 1531, Guadalupe appeared to a recently converted native Aztec Indian named Juan Diego on a hill in a place called Tepeyac, outside of Mexico City. She identified herself as “the ever Virgin Mary” and told him to go the Catholic Bishop Zumarraga and tell him to build a temple in her honor there at the site where she had appeared.
Of course, the Bishop does not believe that Juan Diego saw the Virgin Mary and asks for proof. The story goes on, and eventually la Virgin fills Juan Diego’s tilma – which is a Mexican poncho – with roses as proof. When Juan opens the cape to show the Bishop the roses, the image of Guadalupe is miraculously painted upon his tilma. And the original tilma hangs in the Basilica de la Senora de Guadalupe in Tepeyac, Mexico today.
Guadalupe is my patrona, my patron saint and I love her. Her names and appellations are many, but her image is always the same. Surrounded by a body halo of golden, flaming light and wrapped in a turquoise shroud of shimmering stars, she is beautiful, magnificent and evocative. She shape-shifts as queen, sister, mother, aunt, friend and even girlfriend. She is sweet, compassionate, kind and gentle, but she also shows up in times of trouble, oppression and injustice as a warrior goddess, a woman willing to fight for freedom, liberty and equality. She is also the Mother Earth, the Mother of us all.
Happy dia de Guadalupe. May you embrace her courage, compassion and love. And my you hear her message of peace, Blessings and peace…a la diosa.
Aries (Mar. 20-Apr.19) The Sagittarius lunar cycle comes to fruition just past midnight on Dec. 17th and revolutionary Uranus ends a 5-month retrograde in Aries hours later. This translates as a powerful point of awakening and self-reckoning. The many disruptive, uncomfortable situations you have experienced in the last year have been self-fueled. Change had come.
Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20) Beyond-your-control people, places and events have been running rampant in your life for several months, and possibly years. While you have the tenacity and patience to weather the storm, keep your personal center and maintain your values, it can get old. The good news is you’ve learned to let go, focus on your part and accept others. You’ve changed!
Gemini (May 21-June 21) Fasten your spiritual seatbelt, it’s time for a quantum leap. The five months of Uranus retrograde in self-fueled Aries has taken you back through a plethora of hopes and dreams, a life review of sorts. You may have felt tied to a cause – not necessarily your own – and unable to pursue your personal path. Herald the change. Gather strength and go forth.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) Ups and downs, stops and starts are par for the course these days, but this week, you see the meaning behind the madness. Shifting tides and planetary alignments encourage positive, pro-active change. Uranus goes direct and the Moon grows full. Professional direction gets back on track, as you rework and restructure what you want and desire. Enjoy the ride.
Leo (July 23-Aug.22) Mars in early Libra jumpstarts the holiday week as lunar light illuminates a path of higher-self awakening and philanthropic giving. Romance glistens as children listen to sleigh bells ringing in the snow. Tailwinds of transformation increase as Uranus goes direct and amplifies themes of spiritual enlightenment via international travel. Explore and discover.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep.22) A grand cardinal cross kicks in the week with a dictum to resolve four important areas of concern: self-identity, relationships, home life and work. The good news is that you are now ready and willing to address issues and resolve them via positive solutions and right action. Honesty is your ally, balance and attention your tools. Focus on the good and go forth.
Libra (Sep. 23-Oct. 22) Big news comes in the shape of Mars – planet of personal will, courage and desire – moving into Libra – sign of relationships, balance and cooperation. The dazzle sparkles in a cardinal grand cross that catalyzes the breakdown of longstanding patterns and their reconfiguration at a higher level. You are personally involved, show up and create!
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) Good luck comes to all who accept life on life’s terms, take it one day at a time and practice the arts of patience, self-discipline and gratitude. Saturn’s cycle through your sign marks one of life’s most important period of potential accomplishment and personal reckoning. You see clearly what needs doing. Lucky you, in charge of your life. Do your best.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 20) Candles are lit and cakes are cut as the Sagittarius zodiac month marks another revolution around the Sun. Take a deep breath and look around you. Master and commander of your life, what do you see? As the full Moon aligns with the Galactic Center, release old beliefs and remember your cosmic origins. Bathe in electromagnetic force, live and let go.
Capricorn (Dec. 21-Jan. 19) s one of the signs most affected by the planetary energetics of the ongoing Uranus/Pluto square, this week’s forward station of Uranus is fabulous news. You may experience a change of heart or shift of consciousness as longstanding domestic and family issues suddenly find resolution. Breaking dawn shines light upon internal changes. Embrace the dawn.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) The Sag/Gemini new Moon peaks close to the zodiacal degree of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center, aligning the world with super-charged electromagnetic force. Themes of 2012 Mayan awakening resonate throughout the cosmos. Absorb and transmit the etheric, esoteric rays, ultra-violet and infrared light as you take the high road and follow the stars.
Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20) Numinous Neptune and chiropractic Chiron remain close in Pisces, emanating rays of spiritual healing and enlightenment in areas and issues of emotional pain, ego dissolution, loss and abandonment. Inspiration, help and assistance comes via meditation. Prayer and service. Look for guardian angels, find solace in holy places and spaces. Surrender and let go.
Cynthia is a third generation astrologer living in the high mountain desert of the American Southwest. Visit her website @ www.alacazem.com.
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