Jean Houston often took her dog on after-school walks down Park Avenue in New York City. One day, distracted by grief over her parents’ divorce, the 14-year-old girl accidentally knocked down a frail old gentleman. But he just laughed as she helped him to his feet, and thus began an
Scorpio Full Moon: A Time for Divination
After tending to a sick relative for hours, Peggy came home exhausted and fell into bed. At some point in the night, a noise awakened her. Groggy, she stumbled into the hallway to investigate – where she encountered a stranger. “Are you lost?” she inquired, instinctively putting her hand on
Taurus New Moon: The Electric Earth
It was a beautiful autumn morning in 1996 at Mike Reynolds’ headquarters outside Taos, New Mexico. I dipped my hands into the rich, brown mud and set a dollop atop a low wall. Smoothing it out with a trowel, I then nestled two soda bottles a few inches apart and
Libra Full Moon: Things Fall Apart
“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all
Aries New Moon: Hold Your Power
Recently, a friend and I visited Old Town here in San Diego to seek Zoltar’s counsel. He had disappeared from his former location, so a manhunt was required. But at last we found him, in the foyer of the Alamo restaurant. Jumping up and down like kids, we fed our
Libra Full Moon: Bonding in the Broken Places
Born with a cleft lip and eyes of two different colors, seven-year-old Madden Humphreys often came home in tears after bullies at his school called him “ugly” and even worse names. “It broke my heart,” his mother, Christina Humphreys of Tulsa, Oklahoma, told People Magazine. “He had no friends and
Pisces New Moon: Go Surfing
One stormy day, a distraught man walked far out onto a jetty, as high waves crashed around him. In deep despair, he thought how all he had to do was take one step forward, and his troubles would be over. At that moment, relates Sophy Burnham in A Book of
Virgo Full Moon: Catch the Express Train
Lately I’ve been giving a lot of things away. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s philosophy of blessing and releasing items that no longer spark joy, I’ve dug deep into cabinets and closets and let go of many items – everything from Mom’s old punchbowl set and Dad’s tools, to some lovely
Aquarius New Moon: Be True to Yourself
In her inspiring, irreverent book You are a Badass, Jen Sincero tells the story of a memorable hike in the Utah badlands. The writer and her friends stumbled across a modern-day Tarzan in his late thirties who lived in a cave and sustained himself on deer and squirrels he
Leo Blood Moon Eclipse: Us vs. Them
The United States has become a battleground. Like Yankees and Confederates in the Civil War, we find ourselves on opposite sides of the fence, unable or unwilling to bridge the gap. We look on, aghast, at a relative’s righteous Facebook posts, or avoid family gatherings altogether. Many of us withdraw
Capricorn New Moon Eclipse: Making Your Intentions Stick
Few would dispute that positive thoughts make us happier, and negative thoughts bring us down. So it would make sense that visualizing a positive future would help us create it. And to some extent, it does. Yet research has shown that those who only think about what they want to
Cancer Full Moon: Who Will You Feed?
Perhaps you’ve heard the Cherokee tale in which an old man was teaching his grandson about life. “A terrible fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is between two wolves. One is evil and the other is good. The same fight is going on inside
Sagittarius New Moon: Where are you headed?
“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around a lake.” –Wallace Stevens The year that’s wrapping up has been a confusing and frustrating one for many of us. Yet since Jupiter entered its own sign of Sagittarius early last month, hope is on the horizon. Not necessarily in terms of
Gemini Full Moon: Celebrate What Connects Us
Imagine sitting down opposite someone who’s vowed to hate everyone who shares your skin color and ethnicity. This is the position that filmmaker Deeyah Khan placed herself in when she met face-to-face with those who frighten her most – neo-Nazis and white supremacists – to see if they could find
Scorpio New Moon: Wrestling with Demons
It’s been an unusually bleak time lately, between bomb threats, hate-motivated shootings and pre-election political rancor. The Sun and Mercury are dredging the depths of Scorpio, while Jupiter transits the final degrees of that dark, inscrutable sign, spotlighting life-or-death struggles – and the power to overcome them. Sometimes the imagery