Intuitive Insight Pathways, Dr. Catherine Al-Meten: Wednesday, March 7 a Grand Trine in Earth signs fo...

Intuitive Insight Pathways, Dr. Catherine Al-Meten: Wednesday, March 7 a Grand Trine in Earth signs fo...: Wednesday, March 7 a Grand Trine in Earth signs forms in the heavens as the Moon in Virgo aligns with Jupiter in Taurus Pluto in Capricorn...

Grand Trine in Earth Signs and the Crow Full Moon

Wednesday, March 7 a Grand Trine in Earth signs forms in the heavens as the Moon in Virgo aligns with Jupiter in Taurus Pluto in Capricorn. At 9:18 A.M. (PST) Luna makes her perfect 120 degree trine to Jupiter, followed at 10:56 A.M. (PST) by her alignment to Pluto.  Jupiter, the archetypal energy of benevolence, abundance, good fortune, and optimism, combines with the power of transition and transformation characterized by Pluto, creates a potent period of time.  Now is the time to gain the kind of support you need to gather resources needed for major projects.  As you made your intentions known and cast your nets out in search of resources in the past, you now begin to gather in support for your ideas, encouragement for your creativity, and resources to back and carry you forward.  Whereas you may have felt that your efforts have been thwarted recently, you will now feel a release of the energetic dams...movement forward is signaled. It’s a powerful time to step out of that which may have been binding you in fear, self doubt, frustration, anger, or an under-appreciation of your own gifts and assets. 

Reading Emily’s Virgo Magic will give you great insight into what may have been holding you back recently.  We cannot afford to stay caught up in self pity and false modesty.  Sitting on our gifts is like burying our money in the backyard while letting our family starve to death.  Further energizing us at this time is the Moon in Virgo’s conjunction (exact alignment) with Mars this afternoon (3:30 P.M., PST). Mars, which has been at its closest orbit to the Earth this last week, shines bright in the night sky and perfectly connects  and energizes with the solid, pragmatic, emotional influence of the Moon in Virgo. Mars’ aggressive energy currently being grounded and contained in earthy Virgo, finds emotional release which may result in somewhat over-assertive reactions to very complex issues.  Note this, and avoid overreacting to complexities and insecurities that may be triggered as a result.  Instead, use personal containment to maintain a grounded perspective.
Venus entered her home sign of Taurus just a few days ago, so is also lending her energy to the building Grand Trine. Emphasis on beauty, inner and external, helps us create, connect, and make peace in all areas of our lives.  What was set into motion at the time of the last New Moon (Pisces, February 21), continues to be nurtured, built upon, created, and shaped by the thoughts, feelings, actions, and spiritual investment we give to those areas of our lives we say matter most to us. 

This morning I read a quote, “If we only knew the power of our thoughts, we would never again allow our selves a negative thought.”  While we cannot control every thought that enters our mind, we can control what we do with those thoughts. When the energies of the Universe are acting with such quick and decisive response to our energetic impulses, it behooves us to practice all forms of non-violence, including the Buddhist practice of Ahimsa.  Ahimsa, often translated as non-violence, is  a powerful spiritual practice calling us to pay attention to our thinking, our words, our actions towards others, but equally as important, towards ourselves.  How many times in the day do we berate ourselves, underestimate our capacities, dishonor our bodies or ethical values?  How many times a day do we dismiss our intuitive senses, devalue our ideas, or waste our time and energy on actions, thoughts, and behavior that is harmful to ourselves and others? Notice, as you go through your day, what your internal chatter is, and when you find yourself in the depths of self pity or self deprecation, make an intentional choice to turn negative, harmful thoughts into more positive, affirming ones. 

This is the call of the energy that is rising to the surface among all people everywhere.  No longer asleep, no longer numb to suffering, no longer tolerant of inhumane actions toward our fellow human beings, no longer accepting of the destruction and waste of the Earth’s resources, we are going through the process of metamorphous. Our lives are constantly changing and evolving. We are fated by the limitations of our species, our DNA, and our levels of age and experience, however we are gifted by the bounty of our free will and ability to choose, think, create, appreciate, change, and form ideas and life choices of our own.  We do this in symphony with a host of unseen and unknown actions active both in the world of concrete manifestation (other people, their lives and choices, and the rhythms and synchronicity of those with whom we relate), and in the mysterious realm of Divine movement, energy, and mystical connections. 

As much as we all seem to want to control our lives down to the last detail, understanding that much of what happens to bring us what we desire, happens on an energetic level, much of which is beyond our control, understanding, or imagination.  Allowing ourselves to develop as best we can, according to the highest principles we can live by, and with respect for what is going on in the lives of others that a.) may have absolutely nothing to do with you; b) is beyond your control, but not your influence and energetic input; c) does not eliminate our right, responsibility, obligation, and desire to create beauty, light, love, and good in our lives; d) is beyond your knowledge or understanding, but within your energetic field (thus capable of receiving love, prayers, and the energy of your thoughts--negative as well as positive). 

So what does this mean for us, when we want to make choices about our lives? When we desire something that seems to depend on someone else? When we feel thwarted, frustrated, blocked, lost, or at the end of a road?  Yesterday, I read a friend who was upset because she felt her education had been all about interests she had in the past, but held nothing for her where she was at this point in her life.  Like many of us who have committed ourselves to a choice early in our lives, we often find that the life of a commitment has a limit.  It can be disconcerting and disappointing, however it is far from uncommon, especially when we are at the beginning of our life journey. Graduating from university, completing a cycle in life, getting a divorce, or getting married, having a child, or having your children leave home, losing a job or starting a job---all of these major life changes bring us to the gateway, the threshold of our life path. At the threshold, we look back at what we had, what we completed, what we accomplished, and we realize, we have finished some part of life that has helped define who we are. What lies ahead? The big questions never seem to be nearly as apparent as the judgment of what has been accomplished, or the shock of finding out how different life is that what was expected. 

Our expectations often start as our dreams, our wishes, our desires, or our plans. When we move into life believing that the expectation will become the reality, we are bound to be disappointed. At the threshold points on our journeys, we are once again thrown back to the point where we ask ourselves who we are  or who we’ve become, and what is the next best step? 

Many of us wander around in the valley of our expectations, bemoaning our fate or trying to figure out what we need to do to get things to work out right. What may be needed instead, is a reliance on the journey, a surrender to the life that awaits us rather than the life that is disappearing into the past of yesterday.  How do we do this? We look to our passions. We look to our gifts. We look to the blessings in our lives right now. We look to what was completed, with an eye on what new questions, what new interests, what new leg of the journey could be calling.  

When I am given the gift of time, rather than fill it right away, I allow myself to go into prayer, meditation, rest, and time. Since so much of  our lives is about fulfilling obligations, attending to business and survival, providing and caring for, taking care of daily life, having time is a gift.  Watch what you do with your time, the next time you have some. Time may arrive because the car breaks down and you have to walk, take a bus, or sit home more. Time may come due to ill health or an accident that sidelines you for a while. Time may come because you can’t find a job. Time may come because you are stuck in a traffic jam or are behind someone in line who is taking too long. 

Pay attention to the little pockets of time or the longer stretches of time, and see if you can be more productive, more appreciative, more aware, and less anxious, stressed, or impatient with the lack of movement in your life.  Use the time to focus inside and to connect to the Divine, the energy that powers and infuses life. Use your meditation practice, your prayer time, your reading time, your contemplation time, your walking and exercise time to become more centered on living in the present in full appreciation for who you are, what you have accomplished, and in patient acceptance that the thoughts, actions, and beliefs that shape you now, will manifest in the life you will live from this moment on.  Whenever I have been caught up in a pity party with myself, I have made a concerted effort to get outside myself, outside my small realm, to support, help, learn about, or participate in something that has nothing to do with me and my perceived problems. 

Following my intuitive hunches, paying attention to the messages and symbols popping up in my dreams,  honoring my gifts and accomplishments, and recognizing my responsibility to use the gifts and fruits of my knowledge, enables me to create, to share my knowledge or ideas, and to live my life with a better understanding that despite my plans, despite my dreams and expectations, the best things in my life have always been a total surprise. I don’t mean you shouldn’t make plans or avoid expectations; I do mean that we need to be open to the mystical nature of life that moves into our hearts and homes despite the challenges, blocks, and armor we have donned to prevent our own happiness.  Open your heart, let go of your negative patterns, and embrace the journey.
With this Grand Trine in Earth signs (doesn’t come along but once in a great while), we are enjoying the grounding energies this beneficent aspect.  Tomorrow’s full Moon in Virgo at 18 degrees, called the Crow Moon or the Sap Moon, provides the impetus and focus for those dreams and plans set forth on the Pisces New Moon.  Fortunate enough to have my own Virgo Moon in opposition to my Sun in Pisces, I have lived and learned about the power of using opposing energies to strengthen and focus my life and choices.  Mercury in 5 degrees of Aries, is preparing for its retrograde phase, and this enables us to turn our attentions inward. It also enables us to enter a period of reflection, release, reevaluation, and reassessment.  Rather than seeing the retrograde phase as a negative or delaying phase, understand the importance of this phase as a time to allow ideas to root, encourage creativity to deepen, and for perfecting plans and ideas for future manifestation and success. 

Gird your loins, prepare for the journey, expect the unexpected, and go forth with an open heart, a willingness to learn, a commitment to create, and an appreciation for the abundance of life. Set out, if only in your mind and heart, in search of a life that allows you to do what you most desire.  Remember what the Cheshire Cat said to Alice in Wonderland. When Alice observes that the cat is doing what should be impossible, the Cheshire Cat replies, ““Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”  Live the impossible life that is waiting for you.

Dream Journeys: Messages and Mirrors of Higher Consciousness

Part One: Developing a Dream Practice

Dreams are our magic mirrors, and when we look into the messages reflected in our dreams, we can discover the gifts of Consciousness.  All of us dream, yet many of us fail to appreciate the gifts that come in our dreams.  Dreams are like unexpected taps on the door late at night, and we often find the messages and symbols of our dreams frightening, disturbing, or fragmented.  It has been said that dreams are like letters from God. Just as you must open a letter you receive from a friend to know what is written, so too must we open our dreams to begin to understand their messages.  Dreams come in forms that are meant to jolt us in order to catch our attention. Often we find dreams disturbing not only because of the jarring symbols, but also because of the underlying message.  The hidden messages of dream symbols are calling our attention to something that needs to be examined, understood, or faced in our own experience.

The journey of our dreams is multifaceted, and as you begin to pay closer attention to your dreams, it helps to develop a regular practice to aid you in your journey.  There is an element of intention to a dream practice, as in other spiritual practices.

1. Establishing a bedtime ritual: There's an old expression used to describe computer data input, "garbage in, garbage out." With computers, this means the information that comes out is only as good as that information which is entered into it.  This same idea applies when it comes to our own consciousness.  Whatever our minds, emotions, physical bodies, and spirits are exposed to, becomes part of our whole being.  Everything we do affects who we are on all levels.  When we prepare to sleep at night, we are taking to be with us, the sum total of everything we have experienced.  To have a restful sleep, it helps to create rituals for bedtime that are conducive to restful sleep. 

Avoid stimulants and alcohol before sleeping.  Both interfere with your brain's ability to dream.  Develop a soothing, relaxing ritual to prepare for bed. Avoid watching television or listening to stimulating music before bedtime.  While some people exercise before bed, you might find that exercise is too stimulating before sleeping.  Be careful of the types of exercise you do before sleeping.  A warm cup of herbal tea might be relaxing before sleeping.  If you have a lot on your mind, you might find it useful to write a short list of things you want to remember to do the next day. That way, you have moved the tasks out of your mind onto a concrete list of things to do/remember, and you'll be less likely to be kept awake thinking about them. 

Spend some time putting some positive, beautiful thoughts in your mind (read some poetry, listen to music that relaxes you, read something inspirational).  There is a wonderful spiritual practice called the Examen of Consciousness.  The three-part ritual suggests that you  go over the day and consider what you have to be grateful for. Then examine the day and consider what you might have left undone, unsaid, or unforgiven.  Finally, for anything that you feel you need to address (forgiving someone, asking for forgiveness, letting something go that you found disturbing), silently or aloud, ask that all be brought back into balance that is out of harmony. 

2. Setting your intention:As you ready yourself to sleep, align yourself with the Divine Creator, and ask for protection, wisdom, and guidance through your dreams.  You may do this in the form of a prayer, or simply by setting the intention, and releasing your thinking. If there is a situation, challenge, problem, or idea that you are especially focused on, you might ask that you receive guidance and clarity on that subject during your sleep. I usually also pray that I recall my dreams, and that the messages I receive come in a way that I can understand and deal with. 

3. Recording your dreams: Once you have set your intention to remember your dreams, provide yourself with a simple way to record your dreams before you get out of bed. Keep a tablet and pen on your nightstand, or keep a small tape recorder (your phone may have one). If you wake up from a dream in the middle of the night, quickly jot down what you can easily recall before you go back to sleep.  In the morning, keep yourself from jumping out of bed right away. If you have a tight schedule in the morning, wake up about 15-20 minutes earlier than usual, so you can take your time to write down the dreams you recall. Often we don't remember the whole dream. That's okay.

4. Dream Journal: I recommend keeping a dream journal. Every morning, the first thing I do is write down my dreams in my journal.  Some mornings I may play with the symbols, and explore archetypes or aspects of the dreams in more depth, but primarily, I record the dreams. I avoid jumping to conclusions about what they mean, preferring to reflect on the dreams throughout the day.  Write down what you recall.  You may remember only a color, or a feeling. Describe whatever you recall.  Avoid judging or analyzing the dream at this point.  Simply jot down what you recall.  Use all your senses, and record the feel of the dream, any sounds or movement, images, words, symbols, people or animals.  Avoid trying to make sense of what came to you in your dreams. Our subconscious reflects archetypal symbols and dreams are representative of areas of our waking life. Dreams, for the most part, are not meant to be an exact reflection of our waking life. 

5. Opening Up a Dream: During the day, I reflect on my dreams.  When possible, I tell my dreams to one of my dream keepers. My dream keepers are those confidants in whom I confide my private thoughts.  These include my daughter and my closest friends.  I have found that sometimes in telling the dream, I hear something that I had overlooked when I was thinking about the dream or writing about it.  My dreams are often full of puns, and I usually don't "get" the pun until I hear myself telling the dream aloud.  My confidants often share an insight or interpretation that I hadn't thought about before.  I observe how my life might be reflecting a message from the dream, or consider what a dream story or symbol is calling me to pay attention to. I ask the question, "What in my life right now is like______________ in the dream?"  "How am I feeling like ___________ in the dream?" 

Some of us dream about other people, and there are different ways to interpret any part of a dream.  Most dreams are about ourselves, but what we cannot see or understand in ourselves, we somehow can learn about through our relationships with others.  This is true in our waking life as well.  Most of our relationships invite us to learn more about ourselves. What we dislike or love in another, is also part of us somehow...or is part of something we are learning to deal with.  In dreams, the people we meet are, in part, a representative part of ourselves.  I say "in part," because my experience with dreams tells me that the people in my dreams are often the people in my life (those I know, those I knew, and those I am to meet).  We are all relational people, so what I need to know or learn about for myself, necessarily comes through my interactions with others.

Sometimes too, I find myself in the middle of dreams about someone else's life experience.  This has happened often enough for me to recognize that sometimes, a dream is given to me in order to pass a message on, provide support, a warning, or suggestion, or be forewarned about a situation with another person.  My dream abilities include occasionally being able to "see" the source of an illness. Not being a medical doctor, I nevertheless have some intuitive gifts for understanding the source of certain illnesses.  For example, when my mother was very ill one time, I dreamed about a problem she had with her intestinal tract. I also dreamed about the source of the problem when I saw a bunch of heads of lettuce. She was diagnosed with Diverticulitis, and could not eat lettuce without it causing her great distress.  While my dream diagnosis wasn't needed by her doctors, it provided me with a great deal of relief, for I knew she was not seriously ill, and would recover.  The main point I am making is that after you make a practice of recording, observing, reflecting on, and studying your own dreams, you will begin to see patterns. The patterns will be both in the types of dreams you have and in the messages, symbols, archetypes, and elements that appear and reappear in your dream journey over time.  You will begin to learn to differentiate the BIG dreams that are generally of the archetypal, life transition type of dream, to the mundane sorting out of your daily activities, to the more psychological type dreams that pertain to your own development and journey to wholeness or individuation.  Some of you will recognize precognitive dreams; others may have dreams that seem to be of past lives.  Some of your dreams will be of a highly spiritual nature.  Before you try to figure out what kind of dreams you are having, you want to first get into the practice of working with the dreams and establishing a strong baseline to work from.

7. Monthly and Ongoing Study and Reflection.
If you don't recall a dream every morning, don't give up.  Keep practicing the ritual of intention and prayer before sleeping, and be open to whatever dreams come in the way they come to you. Sometimes when I nap in the afternoon, I get very potent symbols and messages.  Often when I am troubled about something, I will take a nap to see if I can release my conscious mind enough to let the subconscious knowledge come to the surface. It works well for me.  You'll notice after a while, that your dreams come in different types.  In another article I will go into more detail about the different types of dreams there are. What is most important for you, however, is to study your own dreams, and discover the patterns, types, and messages that seem to come to you. 

Your dream journey is unique to you, as are the symbols of the dream. I avoid using dream analysis books simply because I think it is important to come to understand what different symbols and archetypes mean to us.  Colors, for example, have very personal meanings to people.  Ask yourself what different dreams symbols mean to you. As you begin recording your dreams, watch to see what types of symbols, stories, actions, places, colors, sounds....what are the pieces of the puzzle that are popping up in your nighttime journeys?


I use a simple, 8 1/2" x 11" spiral notebook (the cheap kind you can buy in any market). I write at least 3 pages in the journal each morning (not all about dreams).  At the end of each month, I reread the journal, paying close attention to the dreams and how they may or may not have figured into what was going on in my waking life that month.  It's a great reflective tool. Then about every 4-6 months, I go over the dreams for an entire part of the year.  This really helps me see the patterns, developments, growth, and stages of my dream journey. 


There are some other ways to work with dreams, but what I've outlined here gives you a good place to start. You will discover you own way to develop your dream journal, and your own way to work with the dreams and symbols. 


In future articles I am going to write about different types of dreams, ways to open up a dream, and some common ideas about dream symbols, archetypes, and dreamwork. 


Sweet dreams, aha lam saeedi (Sweet Dreams in Arabic).  Enjoy exploring the gifts of your subconscious, and watch your dreams to see what mysteries and gifts they have to reveal to you.  Enjoy the process of becoming more aware of that mystical, magical part of yourself that is being called to live more fully by that Divine Creative Power infusing the Universe in reflection of the Omnipotent Omnipresent Source of all Being.