One Saturday when I was 14, my friend Erin and I were hanging out at my home when the minister of our church stopped by to lay his hands on my mom’s sprained ankle. As this was not standard procedure for Methodist ministers, Erin and I exchanged dubious looks. We
Capricorn Full Moon: Playing a Long Game
Our beautiful green planet just marked a shocking new milestone – enduring 12 consecutive months of unprecedented heat. Every single month from June 2023 to May 2024 was the world’s hottest such month on record. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, who are about to mark the beginning
Gemini New Moon: Power of the Mind
What if, all through your childhood, your dad told you things like, “You’re gonna shake up this world,” and, “You’re gonna win Wimbledon.” And drove you past mansions in the wealthy part of town, assuring you that some day you’d have one of your own. For two young Black girls
Sagittarius Full Moon: Think Big
It’s hard to imagine, especially for those of us (like me) who spent our summer vacations haunting the local library and devouring adventure novels, but many U.S. kids have no library near where they live – and thus no access to books. Three years ago, this fact became apparent to
Taurus New Moon: What’s Your Pleasure?
Waxing Moon Goddess by Ramona Szczerba I went salsa dancing last Saturday night for the first time in years. Salsa used to be my world, and I was out dancing at least five times a week. Over time, the scene changed – and so did I. But one of my
Scorpio Full Moon: On the Wings of Change
A butterfly is a delicate, ephemeral creature. So, the Zuni Butterfly Dance, which took place off a dusty, remote New Mexico road, came as a shock to many. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes describes it in Women Who Run with the Wolves, the dancer, Maria Lujan, was a large, elderly native
Aries New Moon Eclipse: A Twist of Fate
Some years ago, motivational teacher Debra Poneman was preparing a big speech for Jack Canfield’s Transformational Leadership Council. But fate had a twist up its sleeve. As Poneman recalls, “I had my presentation all planned, replete with my flip chart and white board and power point, and I was ready
Libra Full Moon: Welcome the Shadow
“Anything done for another is done for oneself.” –Pope John Paul II Human beings can be profoundly contradictory. Take Pope John Paul II, who helped usher the Catholic Church into the 21st century. A passionate social activist and champion of human rights, Polish-born Karol Wojtyla was actively anti-Communist and played
Pisces New Moon: Keep the Faith
At age 35, Jennifer Flewellen was put into a medically induced coma after crashing her car into a pole. Doctors soon became certain she would never recover and encouraged Flewellen’s mother, Peggy Means, to take her off life-support. Means refused. Weeks turned to months, which turned into years, but Means’
Virgo Full Moon: Perseverance Pays
“Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell on his head and he discovered gravity. And we here are living in darkness and tragedy, and rockets are falling on us, therefore I thought of creating light.” Using two fans salvaged from a scrap market that he rigged
Aquarius New Moon: Moving On!
There’s no place so identified with car culture as California. Once the fourth-largest crude oil producer in the U.S., my home state’s abundant fossil fuels and balmy weather helped birth a culture of iconic cars, highways, drive-in theaters and restaurants. Whether it was Model-T’s at the beach, Mustangs on the
Leo Full Moon: The Thrill of Creation
Martha Graham’s provocative dance, Errand into the Maze In the mid-1940s, legendary dance choreographer Martha Graham was on a flight to Iran that got caught in a brutal snowstorm. As the plane was tossed about, everyone onboard went into a panic – terrified that they were going to die.
Capricorn New Moon: The Real New Year
“Relax” is my word for 2024. At first I was annoyed when I drew this rune from a bag. What do you mean, relax? That’s all I’ve been doing in 2023! But then I thought for a moment. It’s true I’ve been resting a lot to regenerate my health, but
Cancer Full Moon: Soft Power
When Time Magazine asked Taylor Swift to pose for the cover as their Person of the Year, her response was, “Can I bring my cat?” That’s how Swift and Benjamin Button (one of her three cats), ended up on the Dec. 25 cover of Time. It was a unique way
Sagittarius New Moon: Revive and Regenerate
When legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado took over family land in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, instead of the tropical paradise that he remembered as a child, he found a barren landscape devoid of wildlife. It was 1994 and he had just returned from a horrific assignment reporting on the genocide in