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Newsletter No. 7: July/ Aug 2008

Leo Edition

Contents:

1. News: Alchemical Journey 2009-10 Programme in Glastonbury
2. The Solar Eclipse in Leo
3. The Alchemy of the Leo Cycle of the Year
4. Questions to Reflect on During the Leo Cycle
5. Activities to Help You Embody the Energies of the Leo Cycle
6. Music To Inspire The Lion's Roar

1. NEWS: Alchemical Journey 2009-10 Programme to be held in Glastonbury

The Alchemical Journey 2009-10 Programme will be held over 12 weekends in Glastonbury. The main delivery of the content of the course will be on the Saturday each month, and on the Sunday of each weekend, we will have time to walk and reflect on the learning and will incorporate a walk around a part of the Glastonbury zodiac with sacred landscape expert Dr. Anthony Thorley, where we can be fairly certain that magical synchroncities will abound! For more details of Anthony's work, see www.earthskywalk.com

For details of the Glastonbury Zodiac see: www.isleofavalon.co.uk/avalon-zodiac.html

To welcome in the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter phases of the journey, we will meet on the Friday evening to honour the respective Equinoxes and Solstices.

 

Here is the 2009-10 Programme:

Month 1: Aries:  Igniting the Creative Spark :  Fri.  20th Mar – Sun 22nd March

Month 2:  Taurus:  The Alchemy of Abundance:  Sat. 18th & Sun 19th April

Month 3:  Gemini:  The Alchemy of Communication:  Sat 23rd & Sun 24th May

Month 4: Cancer:  Roots & Connection to Source:  Fri 19th - Sun 21st June

Month 5:  Leo: Creativity, Confidence & Presence:  Sat 25th & Sun 26th July

Month 6:  Virgo:  Harvesting Your Gifts:  Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd August

Month 7:  Libra:  Beauty, Balance & Relationship:  Fri 25th – Sun 27th September

Month 8:  Scorpio: Desire & Shadow:  Sat 24th & Sun 25th October

Month 9:  Sagittarius:  Vision & Values:  Sat 21st & Sun 22nd November

Month 10:  Capricorn:  Authentic Vocation:  Fri 18th – Sun 20th December

Month 11:  Aquarius:  Community:  Making a Difference : Sat 23rd & Sun 24th January

Month 12:  Pisces:  Surrendering to Love & Divine Trust:  Sat 20th & Sun 21st February

Months 1,4, 7 &10 run from Friday evening at 6pm to Sunday at 4pm.

In months 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 & 12:  Sunday is optional.  The teaching material will be delivered on the Saturday and the Sunday activities offer time to walk, talk and reflect.

Price:   £1950
Early Bird Rates: 
£1500 - with £500, non-refundable, paid by end Sep 08 – balance due by 13th Mar 09.
£1750 - with £500, non-refundable, paid by end Dec 08 – balance due by 13th Mar 09.

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2. The Solar Eclipse in Leo: Fri. 1st Aug 2008

On Friday 1st August at 10:12 GMT, there was a solar eclipse in Leo, with the Moon covering the Sun. It always seems more significant somehow when a solar eclipse occurs in the sign of Leo, because Leo is the sign that is ruled by the Sun itself and so is especially bright and luminous as a sign. So to have the blight blotted out temporarily by the Moon is a big deal!

We only really got a faint echo of the actual phenomenon in the UK, but, significantly, the eclipse was exact over Beijing in China; significant of course, because the Olympic Games, are about to start in that city. Already overshadowed by political controversy, Beijing has been literally overshadowed by a total solar eclipse. It is especially significant that the eclipse should occur in the sign of Leo, the sign of play, of games, of pride, leadership and courage. This solar eclipse does not necessarily bode well for the games, and may tempt us to think that there might be significant political unrest in China over the coming weeks that may perhaps disrupt the games themselves.

3. The Alchemy of the Leo Cycle of the Year: (21st June - 22nd July)

Leo the Lion is the king of the beasts and thus the most regal of all the signs, long established as a symbol of power, kingship and divinity. Ruled by the Sun, it is a sign of majesty and pride, creativity, generosity, courage and inner strength.

Apollo is the ruling Greek deity of the Sun, and Apollo was the God of prophecy, healing, and music. Apollo rides the chariot of the Sun through the sky each day and then journeys through the underworld at night, restoring and recharging his power, so that by the next sunrise he can rise again. There is a constancy to the Apollonian Sun, and thus, by association to the sign of Leo, who can be relied upon to shine and radiate his/her light or the world. Leo is the fixed fire sign, whose job is to tend the fire, and keep the eternal flame burning.

Leo is sign that we find in the middle of the Summer Triad, a fixed sign that is definitive of the spirit of Summer, which is now at its height. The days are still long, and with the Sun enjoying higher arc in the sky, we have greater opportunity for hot days. Energy is sapped in the heat, of course, so it can be hard to work, so manual duties have traditionally tended to be light during this season. Everything is nature is growing and it is not yet time to harvest, so it is traditionally a time to relax, celebrate, have fun and live a little.

We might think that Nature itself is in a state of celebration at this time of year, with rich, vibrant colours in abundance. The summer fruits are full and ripe and if they have not yet been been picked, they they will be lying plump and full upon the trees and vines. It is a time for enjoying the bounty of the land, and the gifts of nature's joy. In the Taurus cycle, we marvelled at the blossoms, and the promise of abundance. Now we enjoy the abundance itself and make merry on the fruits of life!

There is a triumph of Light over Dark in this cycle, as the Spirit of Leo beams forth the brilliance of its creative power, bestowed upon us by its astrological ruler, the Sun. Everything now has a golden shine to it and radiates with creative possibility. So it is in our lives, that we can consider what it is that makes us shine, what it is that makes us brilliant, radiant and divine.

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4. Themes of Enquiry and Reflection During the Leo Cycle

Connecting to our Divine Essence.

In the Leo cycle of The Alchemical Journey, we work with the idea that we are all born divine, incarnating as kings and queens worthy of a royal reception, indeed expectant of it! For whatever reason in our lives, we haven't received that recognition, so during this most royal and dignified of months we can connect to that lost heritage! How often do we really honour our greatness and really accept that we are perfectly divine. This is not to deny our humanity, but rather to recognise the connection between our humanity and our divinity. All heroes in myth are born half-human and half-divine. So this month, we are honouring the divine half!

Having the Courage to Show the World Who We Are!

Courage is a big theme for Leo.  The courage of the lion, the lion heart.  This month is about trusting the courage of our hearts and recognising that there is nothing missing – that we have everything we need already to show up and be authentic!

Giving Ourselves Permission to Play, Perform, and Make Things up from Nothing.

Leo is a sign of play, of spontaneity, improvisation, music and dance, art and creative expression. So any opportunity to dress up, jump around and play like children play can really put us in touch with the spirit of Leo. Coming from innocence, and just giving ourselves the permission to make things up can be incredibly liberating and can release the creative force within us.

 

 

Giving Freely From Our Hearts

We often speak of a person's gifts in the same breath as we speak about their talents. Yet the very nature of a gift is that it is not for us alone. A gift is something that we give away. A gift is something that we have that is of value that we give to someone else, that we give to the world. When we give authentically there is immense joy in our giving, and in giving we simultaneously receive. The problem is that our cultural experience teaches us to attach conditions to our giving and we have learned to give strategically. We say to ourselves, if I give in this situation, what am I going to get back in return? We quite understandably want to know that when we give something, we are going get something of appropriate value back in return. Whether we give our money, our love or our time and attention, it doesn't matter. We expect something back that is tangibly connected to what we have given. I'll give you this if you give me that. The idea that a quantifiably measurable receipt is a requirement directly subsequent to our giving, and is a condition of it, is surely one of the most taken-for-granted, and yet misleading, assumptions that we have integrated in our thought process. It is misleading because it comes entirely from a place of limitation and separation.

What Makes You Powerful Beyond Measure?

I always like to reflect on this famous piece of prose from Marianne Williamson during the Leo cycle.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela)

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5. Some Activities to Help You Embody the Energies of the Leo Cycle

• What Makes You Shine?  Look at Yourself in the Mirror each morning and ask yourself:  “What is it that makes me shine?”
• Go Out Dancing, Sing, Play, Strut Your Stuff!
• Take a Risk!  Do something out of character for you which is a real act of self-expression.  Say “boo!” to a stranger.  Say hello to someone and start up a conversation on a bus or train – bring a smile to someone’s face.
• Go to the Theatre: Get in touch with the qualities that the actors bring forth – their presence on stage – and see if you discern whether they are “telling the truth” in their performance.
• Offer a Free Hug a Stranger:  Get inspired - www.freehugscampaign.co.uk

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6. Music To Inspire The Lion's Roar

• Heather Small: Proud
• Take That: Shine
• Let the Sunshine In (From the musical "Hair")
• Kool and the Gang: Celebration
• Los Lobos: La Bamba
• M People: Search for the Hero

 

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