The aim of all souls, whether you in your human vessel know it or not, is to merge with the divine, and the purpose of your every lifetime is to inch towards achieving this momentous goal; in this, self-awareness is key. 

Self-awareness means you understand yourself and you know your frailties: you do what you can to observe them when they emerge, you see them for what they are, and try to change them to be a positive rather than a negative characteristic.  The struggle can be intense and it is easy to find yourself deflated as once again you find you have fallen into the trap of human weakness when you are trying so hard to be your best.  It helps to remember that the soul journey is all about getting things wrong and so learning about life, and that perfection, besides being impossible to achieve, is very boring.

Self-acceptance, then, is an important aspect of self-awareness too.  Too often the spiritual quest is pursued in trying to be something you are not.  If you love people and parties, do not pretend you want to be a hermit because it is ‘spiritual”; if you have a busy lifestyle, do not feel guilty if you are too tired to meditate for Spirit will always find a way of communicating with you; if your relationship is bitter and you are unhappy within it, do not try to forgive the hurts because it is the kind thing to do, but see the truth about how you really feel and what needs to be done.  You are not a saint, and sometimes trying to be one or appear to be one can lead to sanctimony and spiritual arrogance as you judge yourself better than other people.  Be yourself in your human-ness and relatability to others.

When you are fully self-aware, with a gentle unjudging fondness for yourself and acceptance of all you are to the point where you hardly think about yourself, your individual consciousness will merge with the universal consciousness leading to your total spiritual knowing and, at last, your merging with God.  

This total knowing and total union is the essence of who you are; it is the prize of all souls and the promise of wonders to come.  It is what the Spiritual Law of Continuity of Consciousness, the sixteenth of the eighty eight great Spiritual Laws, is all about.

Esoteric philosophy and your experience tells you that the voice and energy of Leo is loud and commanding, calling you to listen and to see.  August is Leo’s time, and this month in this year he is stronger than ever, and he speaks to you with urgency.

It may help you to remember that Leo’s close relationship with Sirius gives rise to a unique alignment of heart and soul that, on Earth, is epitomised in the highest principles of Love and Freedom.  Equally importantly, Leo is the light of the soul and as such he is impacting you as the disciple enormously, calling you to see the truth of the new reality and to accept the challenge to serve in the new order that is before you.

Everything that is happening in the turbulent world around you has significance in the context of Leo’s power at this time, at its peak now as the August Full Moon known as the Sturgeon Moon continues to overshadow you.   

It is no coincidence that the great fighter for freedom of speech and action, Salman Rushdie, was attacked on the day of the Full Moon as he was about to speak publicly against censorship in the place that is known as the Land of the Free – America;  that at about the same time the FBI raided Donald Trump’s home in the Land of the Free in an epic battle over power, ethics, truth and fairness; that in many parts of the Western world the ability to live life as you wish is curtailed through restrictions on the use of water and energy, for example just as your liberty was blocked by Covid measures; that Taiwan’s democratic rights to freedom are being threatened by China; and that Ukrain’s fight for independence is at a critical point as the largest nuclear plant in Europe, situated in Ukraine, becomes the new front line.

 Rightly or wrongly, freedom to think and to be is under scrutiny, and the knee-jerk reaction of lawmakers in a crisis often is found to be unhelpful and counter-productive, and will increasingly be so.

Current events can be seen as examples of separateness as well as questions of freedom, whereby the spiritually desirable sense of community cohesion and understanding is undermined by self-interest and illusion.  Leo calls for the light of the soul - your light and soul and the light and soul of every person and every nation – to dispel the shadow of separateness and to illuminate and enlighten wherever the light does not enter.  As the disciple walking your Way, this is your challenge and also your opportunity, for by so doing in a spirit of unconditional love and humility, your light will grow – and that, of course, is your purpose in being human.

As Salman Rushdie took a stand on behalf of truth and freedom, so will you, as the vision of the new order you know so well and long for is threatened by the forces of denial and fear.  You are so close to seeing the civilisation of love, peace and beauty established in the name of all that is good, and in your name too: I promise you, it will come and you will see it, though there may be thunder and lightning from time to time to wake up your sleeping world to the era of great change that is upon them.

Hold fast against an onslaught of illusion and negativity in your human world, and know that by working with the Heart of the Sun in the name of God and all that is good, the revelation of the new truth and the new reality will emerge; know too that you will have played a vital part in its achievement. 

This time of Leo is your time and your future, but only if you choose to lead and to change.  The time for oblivious sleep is over.

So often August is a sleepy month as nature is getting ready for another change of season.  It is a time of holidays, of leaves starting to change colour and there is a hint of autumn – or spring – in the cool dawn mists.  Here in the Cambrian Mountains the house martins are on their third and probably last broods of the summer, the swifts have left and the nights are filled with bats young and adult making the most of balmy insect-laden nights.

 It is a typical and traditional scenario in a rural area such as this, once perhaps wild meadow land and perhaps one day returning so to be.  Despite the ritualistic normality of these events, behind them there is a lurking uncertainty for their future more from the actions of humans than changes in climate.  The promises from COP 26 seem forgotten now, and it is a sign of the new times that Bolsinaro of Brazil’s promise to build a motorway through the Amazon goes largely unremarked.

The complete lack of global leadership over helping Earth and reducing human impact is stark now, and I am struck by the lack of any discussion on the subject by the two candidates to be Prime Minister or those who question them.  The astrological configurations of this month which highlight meetings between Uranus, Mars and the North Node in Taurus emphasise the folly of this approach to the environment which may have karmic repercussions we will not enjoy.

Overall and otherwise, this normally placid month will be fiery, a pivotal time for strong emotions and exploding tensions, potential conflicts and crises, accidents waiting to happen.  It is a time when a hard reality check could arrive uninvited, and we may need to be clear as to where our freedom lies.

The role of Mars is of particular interest as he enters the sign of Gemini where he will linger for nine months, bringing not only the bellicose aspects of the First Ray but also an emphasis on communication as a weapon. 

Words can be used to harm and deceive, to manipulate and undermine, or they can be used to enlighten, comfort and heal.  This fiery August when words are so important and powerful, it may serve us all to remember the words of Rumi.  “Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true?  Is it necessary?  Is it kind?”

Here in the heart of the Celtic lands, July is filled with the signs of endings and beginnings as young birds fledge and their parents discard worn feathers while perhaps nesting anew or returning to their winter territory or even, if old, dying, their work in a happy life done. 

The rhythm of natural planetary life is wonderful, even if sometimes it is harsh particularly when it clashes with the demands of people who have yet to understand the meaning of co-existence:  as we watch or experience severe flooding or landslides, it is good to remember that nature adjusts to these events as it has done throughout Earth history, but when humans try to control nature unnaturally for their own benefit, it is the human community that suffers.  “Give and take” applies much more in this regard than is recognised currently, though this will change in time.  

Fundamental to the approach of seeking harmonious balance in everything is having common principles that are understood and accepted, also respected.  Boris Johnson, for example, is a complex character of apparent vision and intellectual brilliance with the potential to be one of the leading statesmen of his age, but he has fallen far from grace as a result of hubris and a failure to consider the values of the colleagues and countrymen he was elected to serve, of which integrity is key and in which he has proved himself to be lacking.  These are hard lessons for him – if he is able to see them – and are a potent reminder to those seeking his office of the dangers of complacency and the importance of humility.

It is no coincidence that his wings have melted very publicly as a powerful Full Moon approaches involving Cancer, Capricorn and Pluto.  This challenging astrological scenario is about authority, boundaries, ultimatums, the exposure of corruption and lies and conflict and arguments.  It is a fiery time in many senses and there may be more fire yet to come as human ego is confronted by the pressure of the demands of the soul in a personal as well as a global sense, for the ultimate in giving and taking is the co-operation between the human being and its soul.

The sense of happy compromise which is the hallmark of give and take is achievable even in these chaotic times, for while through Mother Moon we are being challenged over our values we have the opportunity to shine also with the help of the Light of the Sun God.  The Light is strong in July and while we see endings in the world of politics and in nature, that Light is a constant source of reassurance that, whatever is happening in our small quarrelsome human world, we are loved and guarded always in the infinite world of Spirit, and that is through the wise and conscious use of our Light which is part of the universal Light that we shine, visibly.

If you look for it, Spirit gives us a gift every day, a reminder of God’s love for us and of the blessing of being alive on our beautiful Earth.

It can come in unexpected ways and often when we least expect it, and mine, yesterday, came when a large hare loped down a path in my garden in the early morning and spent some time eating long grass near my kitchen window, unafraid of my presence.  It looked healthy and happy, and it was comforting to know that many of the gentle timeless rhythms of nature continue still despite the threats posed by humanity.  Nature is strong.

Mystically, hares have links to the Moon and to the Divine Feminine, very much a part of the court associated with the Earth Mother.  They symbolise, too, fertility and abundance as they quietly bridge what is past with what is to come, reassuring us that us life will go on, particularly at this time of (in this half of the word) the Summer Solstice.

The Solstice on 21^st June is not just about being the longest day and the official start of summer:  it is the time when the Sun is closest to us, and so the power of the Divine Masculine which the Sun represents is at its greatest.  The Light is at its strongest and it is a time for action, activity, growing and harvesting, and bringing nature’s young into the world.  

The hare, feeding and breeding in the warmth of this rich time, is a reflection of the solstice energy but also, in its elusive secrecy, warns us not to forget the power of the other side of the Light: although the hours of darkness are few they carry with them in their concentration an intensity that can be overwhelming.  

While periodically less visible, Mother Moon, always, is as powerful and pervasive as Father Sun.  The Solstice may be a celebration of the power of the Sun, but it brings with it also a thinning of realities and unexpected magic, and for mystics it is as important a time as it is for the celebrants of the strong Sun and third dimensional life – both of which can be dangerous if taken to excess.

If you choose to look for your daily gift from God, you may find at this time of the Solstice that it lies behind the thinned veils of your human reality, in the clouds and the air, in the details of nature resplendent in her bright chakra colours, in the nature spirits peeping from behind plants and water and laughing at your human limitation. 

This is the time when Spirit walks on Earth and is visible, even in a Solstice hare.

We human beings can be obstinate, clinging on to familiar patterns and habits and people because of fear of change, perhaps also out of inertia and a reluctance to give up something we prize.  Letting go can be hard.

We are asked to let go all the time:  it requires an acceptance of truth about ourselves and our world and an awareness that we along with our world are renewing ourselves all the time, like skin on our body, and that implicit in renewal is ceding the past to enable a new present.  Letting go can be painful, but stubborn resistance can make what is inevitable even more difficult, whether it is anxiety about getting older or fear of death, which is the ultimate in letting go and thereby finding freedom.  It is ironic that so often what we try to stop, brings with it when it happens a new peace and a new life.

Examples of what I am talking about are visible now, as we see the frail but realistic Queen start the process of handover to her heirs, and Boris Johnson refusing to give up his shaky hold on power – each showing us how integrity is tightly woven into the process of letting go, or not, and how using the spiritual principles of life as our guide helps us do what is right in all circumstances.  Without them life is much, much harder as ego not wisdom drives our actions.

As our own fragile world continues to change we will be required to let go of beliefs and expectations that, today, seem unmoveable.  Imagine if the Sun failed to rise one morning, if the seas changed position, if the trees spoke, if all the satellites were wiped out, if time stopped……..I make no predictions but I give a reminder that we are entering a new era that humanity has never experienced before.  Letting go of what no longer serves now, such as ego, will help us adjust to what is to come.  There is nothing to fear in so doing, for all truly is well.

Many weeds are despised for being untidy and unworthy of a neat garden, just as people are judged too often by their appearance or apparent insignificance.  For some gardeners, plants that appear naturally and from nowhere are unwelcome guests that must be sprayed or pulled without consideration for what good they may bring with them, for the gardener must be in control.

Dandelions are hated by controlling gardeners, who are not interested in the fact that eight of these sun-plants will provide sufficient nectar to feed one bee for all its life, and that the seed heads are loved by many birds.  A garden with areas of uncultivated land will find many more insects among the native wildflowers there than in a carefully planted pollinator bed – helpful though it is.

Our relationship with and attitude to land and the truly natural world reflects who and what we are, how rigid, authoritarian we are, how far we wish it to reflect us rather than being allowed to be itself, and whether we see it as separate from us or part of us, a chore or a blessing.  If we look at nature with the eyes of nature, a conventional eyesore becomes a miraculous gift to us all.

It is a good time to ponder the blessings around us as, soon, on 16^th May, the great festival of Wesak will take place when Lord Buddha will return to Earth to bestow his blessing on mankind and the Planet.  It is the most important day in the spiritual calendar, a day of ritual and invocation when all enlightened souls meet together to invoke the Master and then take His gift into the world.  You, as always, will be among them with your own role to play and work to do.

It is fitting that this year Wesak falls at a lunar eclipse and when Mercury is retrograde, for simplicity, clarity and discernment will be of great importance at this time of major change as a new era comes into being, and the astrological alignments will demand you see events and your part in them through the eyes of wisdom and without judgment.  It may be that the period around Wesak will mark a turning point in the acceleration of time and the planetary vibrational energy, and, at a lower level, the stability of global money markets and the security of the world. 

Eclipses signify completion, endings and new beginnings, and often are triangular in their symbolism:  it may be the key triangle this month will comprise Russia, China and the West, with Ukraine at its heart.  There is more to come of a significant nature from this triangle, which may expand to become a triangle dominated by crises of money, war and nature.  Our attitude to the natural world is key at this time of spiritual significance and planetary change – indeed, it was our contempt for the natural world over millennia that has brought us to the point at which we are, a point of separation and self-sabotage where our existential future is under question. 

When Lord Buddha, through the great spiritual Masters, gives you His blessing next week, what will you do with it?  It is not enough to receive it and to hold it for yourself, for you are asked to do with it what will serve the Plan of God best, unselfishly.  You may, perhaps, wish to give it to those who are deemed of no value, of whatever degree they are, for what is least so often is most.  It may be they are people who suffer in war and famine, so often just nameless statistics, or it may be those beautiful, graceful elements of nature that are deemed to have no value, even though they have the greatest worth for Gaia and for God. 

See the splendour in everything, and enhance it with the Buddhic blessing: as in all karma, it will return to you in infinite abundance, and God will be happy.

When Jesus served on Earth some 2000 years ago, as part of his teaching and example he underwent all the initiations it was possible for a man to experience, tested and tested again about the challenges of being human, and being human well.  He showed us how to be our best despite or because of the trials of life on Earth.

Easter is a time when many people particularly remember him, his sacrifice and his suffering, and just as he had empathy for everyone he encountered, so you too, as you reflect upon the meaning of this Easter weekend, may feel for the man and the Master who taught us that from our suffering comes our resurrection.  

His story is more important than ever this year as the worst and the best of humanity is on stark display, along with the harshest of adversity in Ukraine and far beyond.  With the knowledge that more ordeals are to come it is hard to see the imminence of resurrection or any happy outcome for the world at this moment. 

As you grieve for the outside world you may be undergoing a crucifixion of suffering yourself, for this is a time when many people are being challenged in a way that correlates with their level of spiritual evolution and their human lesson plan.  How you feel consciously now reflects the feelings and longings in your soul: there may be memories still of the terrible anguish experienced by Jesus, memories that are so strong of his pain and yours that they obliterate your joy in knowing that his suffering was the prelude to his spiritual resurrection and a liberation that freed him and served us all.

You are a reflection of Jesus, and your suffering, past present or future can be comforted in remembering that it is temporary and it will end, for the fundamental nature of your soul is to be in joy, to love and to do good wherever you can.  You may wish to look at the influence of the mind meanwhile, to see if it is prolonging your suffering unnecessarily through negative emotions and imaginings. 

Just as your suffering is temporary, so too is the suffering created by war, poverty, self-interest and materialism, all of which can shadow souls until the veils of ignorance and complacency fall away to be replaced by a new awareness and understanding of the true values in life.  The crucifixion of suffering will be gone to be replaced by a magnificent resurrection of human souls into the new world which is our future.

This year may continue to be testing and you may be witness to some extraordinary and disconcerting events.  At such times remember if you can the true nature of your soul and all souls, and that you and they will break free from the constraints of the old world just as Jesus did.  To suffer and to see suffering is hard, but it is not forever.

Long ago were there no boundaries defining countries or continents, just a seemingly endless expanse of un-named lands and seas for nomadic hunters and farmers to explore in their quest for survival and through their human curiosity.  If satellite tracking had existed then, the constant flow of people roaming around the world over thousands of years might have resembled a murmuration of starlings, swooping and swirling in shape-shifting clouds of movement that was a response to the challenges of climate and food availability.

 It took a long time for settlements to begin to resist the influx of strangers.  They began to define their boundaries and give a name to their tribes and lands, to want more land and to fight for it, if necessary, offensively and defensively.  A sense of belonging to one place developed and incomers in large numbers were discouraged.

From time to time, however, major events forced upheavals to this established way of life:  famines, plagues and wars decimated countries and populations, and caused the re-shaping of boundaries as well as the mass-movement of people seeking safety somewhere else.  The fall of Atlantis and the resulting great flood is a vivid example of how a catastrophe can bring about a mass movement of people and of souls, physically and spiritually.

A significant dispersal of human (and animal) beings and souls is ongoing now in the struggle for the liberation of the soul of the Planet, and of humanity which is epitomised in the conflict in Ukraine and beyond.  Everything relating to the future of the world, the coming new civilisation, is being fought over or being highlighted for each of us to choose where we stand:  it is about freedom or control; integrity or expediency; violence or kindness; turning our back or extending the hand of friendship; national interest or the greater good for the world; humanity or cruelty; generosity or mean-ness; transparency or the manipulation of the truth; acceptance of our failings or the assertion of our perfection; black or white, rigidity or flexibility; judgment, or understanding even of those who do the greatest wrongs but indirectly teach so much.

It is interesting to reflect that these choices applied very similarly in the last days of Atlantis. 

It may be that the Ukrainian conflict will, directly or indirectly, extend beyond its borders as, indeed, it is doing today.  The repercussions may only truly be understood, or felt, in months or even years from now, and, rightly, we will all be touched by what is a life-changing global and personal challenge.   A continuing murmuration of people may cause the breaking down of borders and the old sense of protective national identity as we all shapeshift into something new, expansive and truly community driven, thanks to the reminders, by the suffering in Ukraine and elsewhere, of what it really means to be human, and to have a soul. 

Russian attacks on nuclear plants in Ukraine and the serious possibility of a significant escalation in the use of battlefield weapons brings the sense of personal vulnerability much closer.  The uncertainty for we who watch is unsettling, but it is right that we share directly or indirectly in the pain of the world that is epitomised in a conflict at the heart of Europe.  It is a world war that challenges the human race, its past and present, from which we cannot be exempt.

Every level of the learning that is our challenge on our soul’s long journey is being tested and displayed now:  the first initiation is about greed, violence and lack of self-control and we see this in the actions and motivation of Putin, his armies and his oligarchs.  The second initiation concerns desires and fears, self-interest and negativity on full display and not just in Russia;  control of our thoughts is the keynote of the third initiation, and more and more a propaganda war is being waged as well as a physical one so that it is hard to know what is truth and what is illusion, and media reporting – well intentioned though it may seem to be – is twisting what we think and believe.  Suffering is at the heart of the fourth initiation, and it is heart-breaking to see the extent of suffering experienced by the people, animals and land of Ukraine. 

The fourth initiation, known sometimes as the Initiation of the Crucifixion, is the final one that focuses solely on our humanity – subsequent initiations relate to our transition onto our cosmic path.  I will mention the fifth initiation here too, however, because it is the Initiation of Revelation, when we will be evolving rapidly as spiritual beings and when at last we will be able to see fully without the veil of obscurity that constrained us for so long.  

It will be a great pinnacle of achievement, and while what is occurring so violently and cruelly in Europe now will break apart the world as we have known it, a global crucifixion metaphorically speaking, the resurrection that will follow will be the realisation of the very special fifth initiation, both to be welcomed and to be prized. 

There will be a few more stages to reach this point, but you are able to see the pattern of change that began outwardly with the COVID pandemic, through continuing climate challenge and Earth eruption, through war now and food and water shortages to come.  Civilisation is transforming rapidly, and it must do so for the Planet and humanity to pass the test of the Initiation of Revelation and to become better and kinder.

The human journey to cosmic realisation is hard, but the most challenging lessons bring great reward.  The struggle will affect each of us, whether it is physically, financially or emotionally and some people, as we are witnessing, are suffering enormously on behalf of us all.  For their sake and the sake of the world, see and speak the truth with clear eyes and voice, act with compassion to help where you can, be practical in adjusting your everyday life as needed, and know that the pain will pass. 

Nature is a great healer, meanwhile.  By helping nature and letting the beauty of nature help you, you are helping Gaia all over the world and in those war-torn places of suffering that need your healing most.