August 18th we have the new moon in Leo at 26 degrees. This new moon trines mars and gets an energetic ping from the north node, both of which creates more ENERGY. If lately you've felt drained and tired, with not enough juice to maintain a focus on what you want to create, this new moon will give you the boost you need.

The Leo new moon is a jumpstart to destiny. The Sun rules our life force, and the Sun part of our chart, our soul's essence. When we are on target with our "soul goals," our heart feels happy. When we are off track, we feel something is missing. . Are we being what we were born to be? Does our career path truly reflect our essence? (The sun rules career.) Are we happy?

Many of these questions may be brought up during this beautiful new moon. It doesn't matter where your sun sign is placed, although the house your sun is in is the environment you'll be examining for some of these soul-searching questions.

We are in the middle of a strange and dramatic moment in history. Leo rules drama and pulls us into our own dramatic play, in a very personal way, as we look at our circumstances within the greater backdrop of society and the culture. Right now, a lot of us are asking the question, how do I fulfill any of my dreams, when reality seems to be closing doors? The economy is uncertain, the world powers are functioning weirdly (at best), and answers are muddled for what choices to make.

Our world has a lot of darkness right now. Nothing is quite as it seems and a lot of dust storms are driving the mass information. What we know is what's in front of us to see, hear, feel and touch. But we also have access to our intuitive knowledge which comes directly from our soul and the times require us to tap in now.

The Sun is consciousness. This new moon will bring energy and drive to your life. It can light up the areas of darkness that have muddled your thinking and bring clarity. Sun meeting moon (as in a new moon) is a reconnection between your unconscious, feeling nature and your conscious awareness. With this conjunction we begin to wake up. We can align and feel new enthusiasm about what really matters to us now, and, using Mars as fuel, go toward it now. Also, use the drama of this Leo new moon to your benefit! See your life as a soul adventure. What does your hero or heroine need from this epic journey? What chapter are you in right now? How must your destiny be fulfilled for a happy ending?

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We've recently headed into Mars Shadow, then we will experience Mars Retrograde through the fall

But, Mars is not going retrograde without a fight. Because of the obvious square to planets in Capricorn (status quo authorities) we will have a "reality barbell" to use to build our power muscles!

So what will we do with all this power?

As it moves into a retrograde space, we are filled with an energy that can be used for implosion, or intention. Sometimes you WANT an implosion. Maybe you have some blocked inner tunnels that need clearing out? But frustrations build when you are thinking that something OUTSIDE yourself is preventing your expansion. This time is crucial for being deeply aware of what your intentions are.

One way to handle this transit is to embody your most magical self. What would be an example of this? First, look for situations that need transformation. The ones that are causing you to feel frustration. Frustration is a signal you are giving your power to an outside source, then feeling helpless about it. Imagine that there is no "other" even in situations with other people, so you can change them from the inside of you.

For years I've taught my clients how to change dynamics with other people by allowing those people to be different for you. In order to do this, we must remove our frustration with how we think they "are." Removing the resistance allows a transformation!

With Mars going toward its retrograde, we must own our raw urges and our power to create. (Don't give yourself "blue balls!") Let the energy flow out of you like lava, carving new pathways in your reality. If you feel frustrated, let the lava go inward and blow out the granite within, as if you are in a mine shaft.

If you must explode, be intentional with how you express the energy. Inside an angry baby is the helpless fear its needs will not be met. During this inward power journey we are required to own this and take the power back.

August 3 we experience a full moon in Aquarius at 11 degrees. In the heat of Leo season, fixed fire, we will have an "energy storm" to break up the tension in the atmosphere we've been feeling for a while. Clearing the heaviness and fear that we might not get our needs met.

The beauty of a storm is its ability to free us from an oppressive atmosphere. That is the energy of this full moon. Uranus is the storm, pushing against the other elements. Fixed signs, Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio and Taurus will feel this full moon most, especially if you have planets near 11 degrees.What is the theme? Changing our relationship to security. Releasing fears. Allowing uncomfortable disruption to our caterpillar selves so we catapult into Butterfly status.

We've been living in the unbearable heaviness of uncertainty. Are we going to be okay? Can we make it? Where's our solid ground to stand on? Lately it feels we've been trying to anchor into quicksand. But, when the world feels unstable we must create our own safe connection to the earth.

For me, this means putting my ACTUAL hands into the ACTUAL dirt and planting things. This helps me understand cultivation, perseverance, decision, intention, and patience. How are you handling it? What's your solid ground? Answering this question is the essence of this full moon.

The part of us that dislikes feeling insecure will resist this process! But, here's the gift: When the world is in tumult, we become more alive. This full moon is a time to embrace this aliveness with all of our awareness. Intuit your soul's view of your life and future (AQUARIUS.) Embrace what you love with your whole heart. (LEO) Create a connection to your values in physical ways (TAURUS.) Bravely be willing to perceive the truth behind the garbage and misinformation overload in the world (SCORPIO.)

Most of us know the joy of a thunderstorm. Enjoy. Being. ALIVE.

Monday July 20th

Beginnings at this new moon will be tinged with a bit of "elbow grease." Saturn, Father Time, forces us into effort, because we are building new structure. We will need a sense of purpose and will, grit, and perseverance to finish whatever we start now. It feels a bit like having a boulder on our shoulders, one to which we feel very responsible. This is the energy of opposition. It's the universe asking, are you SURE you want to create that? We may find it's a challenge to have inner resolve, especially around our strategies for complete self nurturance. In fact, it may simply read to you as STRESS, or feeling like it's hard to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Cardinal signs may particularly feel the burn (as increased stress.) This, in turn challenges our ability to find nurturing in the face of such stress. But a new moon in Cancer requires us to demand this nurturing, like searching for a drop of rainwater on a desert plant to quench our thirst.

We are experiencing the finish of a whole cycle about the resistance to our sense of safety. Right now we wonder, has our homeland unraveled? Can we still feel secure when the systems that surround us threaten to topple? Do our stomach's rumble with discontent so much we are unable to find nutritious experiences? How grumpy do we need to get about things we consider out of our control? What barriers do we need to address in our environments and relationships that prevent our sustenance?

Cancer beautifully illustrates CYCLES. Though the wisdom of Cancer we understand that everything in our reality is a cycle: our hormones, our circadian rhythms, our bodies' response to the solar flares, our mental states, moods, and response to environmental toxins.

Weather is a cycle. When a storm blows through we feel it build, then blow, then release the pressure and positive ions. This cycle of opposition will also release. So if it feels like the pressure will last forever, just know we are blessed with the wisdom of Cancer. Ruling our gut. This is not forever, it is just a cycle and we'll be able to find ways to feel good, despite a little acid reflux in our stress response. Use this new moon to dedicate to self nurturing strategies. Recognize that any resistance is just a patterned response to old systems that never nurtured you anyway. And now is the time to take a stand on that.

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This morning, I received a text from one of the contractors who I'd hired for a job. "I'll be there shortly," it said. Hours later, when he still hadn't shown up, I began to feel pissed off. Grumbling led to my imagining how I might tell him off when he showed up. Because, this wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, after I hired him 3 weeks ago, it happened often. If it wasn't mechanical issues, it was some other emergency mishap. He was under the gun with other commitments he had to keep, missing keys, personal drama, the weather etc.

To add complication, he was likable. My response wavered between impatience and compassion. I realize "things happen" but the situation was scattered. It was often how I feel with people who seem to be running "a day late and a dollar short." There's a frustration that comes from interacting with too much chaos. His life appeared to be cobbled together with masking tape and bubble gum!

So, the job kept getting put off, day after day with various excuses. Promise after promise. Ridiculous! So when I got THIS text, I was fuming. This guy clearly doesn't have his shit together!

But as I was judging him, I was also aware of times when my own chaotic behavior disrupted my success. I'm talking about my twenties, when I was just trying to learn how to navigate the adult world of responsibility. Although I wouldn't say my life was a series of disasters, the path I travelled was littered with snippets of chaos, poor judgment, and ineptitude. I'm sure I disappointed quite a few people just by not meeting their expectations. My worst habit was being chronically late, or barely there on time. I was always ashamed about doing things at the last minute, and pretty much keeping my head above water with commitments. Just like this guy.

I felt shame about those times where I was too frazzled to show up and do things better. But the person I really let down was me.

Here's what I noticed: although I'd matured, I never really forgave myself for my youthful behavior. I thought I had, until this contractor-without-his-shit-together crossed my path. Then, I felt the frustration build as I watched how he was doing things. He was letting himself down. He was messing things up! And who was he reminding me of? ME. A younger me, true, but I recognized myself in his display. And, it was less about the job not getting done, and more about the behavior itself. I found this very illuminating.

Unfinished business with our younger selves shows up as irritation, pain, disappointment in our present. Of course, unfinished stuff can be positive too. We can have something wonderful that began at one point and then shows up later to remind us of its wonderful-ness in present time! But how many people are we irritated with who present behaviors we've had ourselves and still can't forgive?

If you want to go deeper, consider that we all have reasons for our behavior. Sometimes we are so depleted and stressed that we really can't show up and be our best! When I look back, often that was part of my reason for being scattered, and it probably was true of the contractor, too. Deepest layer: there are no screw-ups, just awareness!

HOW to STOP the IRRITATION and Integrate what it Means to You:

1. Decide what it is the bugs you most. In my case, it was the feeling of someone not showing up for me.

2. Say, "Everywhere I've done that behavior or been that energy, I now destroy and uncreate all judgment on myself!"

3. It will ripple out to those people that seem to embody what irritates you most. And may even change em. But at the very least, doing this will release the charge you carry on your own imperfections.

On June 21st, the Summer Solstice, we will have a new moon eclipse at zero degrees. A potent beginning. This ushers in opportunities, but do they match what we've dreamed of?

Most of us are rattling through the recent lunar eclipse issues, adjusting, releasing, riding the waves of change that it brought into our lives.

We've barely caught our breath and here's another one! This time we must look at the nourishment in our lives. Cancer rules the stomach and new research is telling us most of our brain chemicals and hormonal connections happen through gut health. Say you indulge in junk food and aren't getting healthy fuel. This aspect will notify you it's time for better health.

Eclipses bring undeniable crossroads. These are decisions we make. Always for the better and for the health of our overall being. Eclipses are responsible for evolution. We have sudden realizations that change our minds!

This eclipse is akin to letting go of a fixation on a certain taste. What if you're so busy staring at an empty shelf of your favorite drink while the store is fully stocked with something better in the shelf next to it?

This is what we're looking at this Solstice. Opening our arms to new opportunities. Noticing they may look different than what we've always imagined, but we feel them as good and new. Letting our gut be our guide. Really being aware of how something FEELS in our stomach. Our stomachs tell the truth about energy (and food.) Don't choke down stuff that doesn't nourish you.

So here we go! And it's going to be okay.

Remember that chaos precedes new order. You should see my kitchen when I'm making a pie. The finished product is more than a sum of its uncooked parts. These eclipses cook us, and in a good way. And sometimes you make something you did not expect. Does the surprise ruin the old dream you had? This is a way God can gift us, by surprising us out of our expectations, into something better.

Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, is a time of bringing solar consciousness into your life in spades. It lights up things in such an obvious way your can't help but find your way into something delicious.

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The ancients taught a fascinating idea about a planet's visibility. When the planets disappear from our view, it is called a heliacal phase. On May 29th, Venus, our guardian of LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS, MONEY, PLEASURE, ART, AESTHETICS, and HARMONY, is due for her invisible phase, during which time, we won't see her when we gaze up at the night horizon.

Astrology is based on the idea that planetary bodies are expressions of our own psychology, so changes in the heavens impact our daily life! Therefore, when a planet goes through its invisible phase, we feel it.

Planet Venus, currently Retrograde in Gemini, is moving back toward the Sun right now and as of May 29th, will spend about 12 days submerged in its bright rays, and hidden from our view. Afterward she will separate from the sun and "rise" as the Morning Star again on June 12th, which begins a new cycle of her energy. This will be a new cycle of LOVE.Something for us to look forward to! But first, we have to saddle up and go to the underworld.

love intentions are purified.

Venus meeting the Sun "purifies" her. This allows her to re-emerge a lighter, brighter Venus in Gemini for us to enjoy. Soon, we'll all feel more awake!

What's Wrong?

A signature of Invisible Venus can be a feeling of something missing, in the areas of life that Venus rules. We may experiences voids, in love, money, or even pleasure. (Check this out for yourself. Astrology is experiential.)

I once started dating a man just before Venus disappeared, and the relationship suddenly tanked. It made no sense at the time. We were in the early stages and were pretty enamored. But when Venus disappeared it was like we'd been under a spell and suddenly woke up to reality. Since Invisible Venus is a purifier, our intentions changed and we didn't want to be together.

Venus (love nature) immersed in the Sun (consciousness) causes a deep healing of our awareness in relationships. The price of consciousness is a sacrifice of baser instincts. This is what happens during the Invisible Venus cycle.

In retrospect I saw that the purification cycle was Venus helping us each realize our deeper incompatibility. This was a hard lesson but valuable. Until I had that experience I might not have believed in the power of an Invisible Venus transit! A relationship can't be charming without lovely Venus holding sway. Anything unlovely or disharmonious will show itself. If you struggle to keep something false alive, it won't work very well.

Remember that astrology is an experience of our shifting psychology and feelings. Invisible Venus does NOT mean we are, in fact, deprived. It just means we may FEEL deprived. The situations we normally rely on for pleasure and the feeling of love are temporarily in shift.

If you are ruled by Venus (Taurus or Libran) you may notice this short transit very directly. Don't Worry! You won't actually disappear! But, maybe you need some beauty rest? Since YOU are identified as Venus, you may feel a sense of needing to rest. But you will also feel your energy shift up and brighten as you emerge around June 12th! If you're not sure that she's visible, just look up at the horizon around dusk.

Enjoy this journey!

This week, the moon meets the sun in the sign of the Twins, activating us to communicate! Gemini needs to talk. Childlike and mischievous, it wants to play; with words, ideas, curiosity. We might find it hard to pin down the perfect information we're seeking, but the hunt is on. Our minds need a cleansing, a release of the weight we've been carrying. We'll do some fact juggling to get a new perspective.

We are tired of staying at our desks and minding our P's and Q's. We have questions and don't want to keep quiet! And our questions can only be answered by experience. This restless energy frees us up to explore our locales and interact with our neighbors. We want to see the faces of our reality. What we need may be just outside our doorstep, and now we can see our surroundings with new eyes.

Most of us are feeling less certainty in what we always believed to be true. Our ideals are cracking under the pressure of change. No matter how many questions you ask, the answers keep shifting like weather. If you can see this as part of the process, it will be easier to let go of having the perfect answer.

I think this is what we're learning now. Since Gemini always reaches for the next juicy tidbit, life has to be seen as a work in progress. The stress we feel trying to make sense of chaos diminishes if we acknowledge that nothing was ever meant to be perfect, not life, not YOU, or me. Nope, instead it's quite literally the adventure of your lifetime.

We just had 3 planets turn Retrograde: Venus, Saturn, and now Jupiter.

Venus governs love, self worth, and money. Jupiter is wisdom. Saturn is our structure. So our next task is to examine how our past has created what we have now. Don’t look to the outer world to confirm what you know is true, but have some faith in yourself! Trust you’ve made good choices, or at least ones that have brought you more wisdom.

Jupiter, the great benefic, is a planet that expands our lives. It's like a jewel in the heavens that offers us richness in insight, as well as happy occurrences in our lives, IF we are wise in our pursuits! And that is a big IF, because we humans tend to make a few mistakes along the way and sometimes miss great opportunities. This is where the retrogrades come in. They cause us to pause and reconsider so we can reap new benefits by making better choices.

When you look at your relationship history, also peek at your money patterns and previous choices. Do they feel like wise decisions? Do you need to tweak things and change them up? Your future doesn’t have to look like your past. Now is the time to start a new pattern that's better for you!

Retrogrades make us look both inward and backwards. They are intense transits because of our increased awareness to past issues. Hindsight is 20/20. With Venus in the mix, forgiveness is always a great choice! Unload the heaviness in your heart. Especially forgive yourself for past mishaps. Jupiter reminds us that there are no real mistakes, only wisdom gained.

Check out the May reading- especially about Venus Retrograde Issues HERE

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I am having my Mars Return, which begins a new two and a half year cycle of activity. But it's more than that. It's a time we look our inner warrior in the face and accept her full energy. When a planet returns to its original placement, it is really a rebirth of that part of you. How do you think of your assertiveness? With open arms? With trepidation? Awe? Frustration?

Mars is how we go about getting what we need and want. How we defend our turf. How we stand up for our values and defend them if necessary. It is our male energy going out into the world, accomplishing your "To Do" lists, then bringing it all home. How we approve of this male energy depends on whether we feel allowed to celebrate it! So the return gives us a new chance to be that self advocate.

The Astrology of Anger

Mars sitting on our mars can make us feel pissed off, depending on the dynamics at play in your life. Every time you get triggered, it's a chance to correct an imbalance that's probably been going on for a while.

Longstanding patterns of achievement and defeat show up in our charts, and often have to do with the condition of Mars. How happy is your Mars placement? Does it feel suppressed? Does it allow you to position yourself to get what you want? Do you feel squashed when you are assertive? Do you make yourself wrong for pursuing your needs? Is it obvious what actions you want to take or do you get confused and the energy dissipates?

My last mars return was also connected to a retrograde, and things got really weird. It was a theme of frustrated action, abandoned plans, confusing interpersonal situations, waiting, backpedaling and anger at the ineptitudes showing up in daily life! Some of those ineptitudes were mine of course :-) I sabotaged myself in moments, while others sabotaged themselves with me. All of it hard to witness. My whole body was energized during that time. (Pretty sure my spirit animal was the hornet! LOL.)

Anger is a "forbidden" emotion, especially in the modern culture of spirituality but it's a vital signal and a force not to be ignored. It comes from at least 3 important places: when someone lies to you, when you feel abused, and when you are allow yourself to feel powerful. Potent energy can feel a lot like anger.

Things to Notice During a Mars Return

-Feeling powerful (or impotent)

-Noticing boundary issues

-Recognizing your wants, needs and goals

-Asking if you're willing to stand up for, and fight to have a desire.

We each are a warrior. Mars transits reminds us we DO have goals and objectives, they matter to us, and we are not indifferent robots. When our power flows freely we will fight for what we want. Like all returns, The Mars Return suggests a reset of our energy toward new priorities. In my own life, I've been noticing a lot getting done and crossed off the list I had from 2 years ago (YES!!) But also where my energy feels held hostage by indecision, too much analysis, and not giving myself credit where it's due. It's all part of this process. Where are you in your personal Mars cycle?

This week we have a full moon at 17 degrees Scorpio! Look for where this point intersects your chart. This is the area of your life where new boundaries are being etched. A place where you may shut a door and walk away? Scorpio has a finality to it. It wastes no time on "shades of gray.” We are setting emotional boundaries. Scorpio only feels safe when it knows the limits, and these must be decided by YOU.

This full moon brings us issues of loyalty and deep inner feelings. Who (and what) is worthy of your attention and loyalty? (And, who isn’t?) Scorpio activates wounding and healing, so with this full moon we need to dig down and witness our truth. Once you realize what’s best for you, setting boundaries is easy.

Scorpio energy has the ability to look unflinching at areas of dis-ease, remove them, and therefore help us edit our inner movies.

We are moving into the season of planting our symbolic gardens and growing new possibilities in our lives, so we have to weed out unhelpful or toxic situations. How have you been programmed to engage in dynamics that drain your life force? You'll see them now and be able to "destroy and uncreate" the early programming that made them seem normal to you. Scorpio has the ability to even alter aspects of our selves we thought were permanently damaged. So trust this intense process!

why we may be in deep introspection, analysis, and boundary setting. This is a weighty full moon.

Some Full Moon Questions:

~ What needs clearing?

~ What’s standing in the way of your new growth and happiness?

~ Who are you becoming, empowered?

~How can you stand for new boundaries in your life?

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One of my favorite uses for astrology is to examine the cycles in history. This moment in history 2020 is not for sissies! On January 12, Saturn meets Pluto, a meeting that hasn’t taken place in this position since the 1500’s. It's a dark appointment. This conjunction forces us to look at issues we'd love to avoid; the dark side of humanity. Things we'd like to flush. Abuse of power, modern forms of slavery, corporate power (Capricorn rules hierarchical, pyramid shaped structures in society).

When we see a clear example of POWER in the world, our own power issues activate. Therefore the archetype of power abusers will not be perceived the same by everyone.

History repeats so we can collectively evolve. Tracking past cycles sheds light on the present. Here are a few examples of the 1517 meet-up between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and what was going on in the world that made it to the history books.

During this last conjunction, 500 years ago, the transatlantic slave trade brought the first Africans to the American colonies, and slavery became our economic system. Brutal and unjust but profitable, a genius idea at the time, based on current values.

Did colonists know they were causing pain for the enslaved? Sure, but folks were okay with the institution if it kept them comfortable in their social paradigms. For slavery to exist so openly for 300 years indicates that most people alive at the time accepted its benefits while turning a blind eye to the human suffering it installed in the culture.

During this time, others in society (such as the Quakers) made conscientious objections, morally, to slavery but didn't know how to stop it until the idea for an Underground Railroad emerged. This was a way of subverting power and taking it into their own hands. Another Plutonian concept- the dark, underground, in the night, secret, hidden, powerful, occult.

Also during the last Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, the same cultures that created the new slave trade, themselves wanted to be free from their own dictators. Martin Luther began the Protestant reformation, questioning religious power structures. But it's obvious that last conjunction hasn't finished its work in our psyches, because the issues still plainly exist. Five hundred years later, we continue looking at religious organizations, and black culture is still haunted by a racist terrorism. But we don't want to look at these things- they are plutonian.

We like to say we'd never abuse power. But let's not kid ourselves: we all possess an inner road-rager that can go out of control. Think about yourself with hormonal fluctuations on your worst day, poorly slept, without a candy bar in sight, ready to wreak havoc on a line in Starbucks if you don't get your coffee soon.

The infamous Henry the 8th, demonstrated unprecedented singular power. Studies of this king speculate he may have been mentally ill and if you want to watch the Tudors, you’re in for a lively illustration of "high society" at that time run by a tyrant. Capricorn rules high society, autocrats and the Devil card in the tarot.

Thegift of these astrological cycles is seeing history-being-created within each of us. Consciousness is an evolving spiral so we visit the same issues but try to handle them at a higher level. As the cycle resurfaces in modern times, we have the chance to evolve our understanding of power and the "god" of money.

Think about the social change that happened in the 1960's. This was largely due to the Uranus/Pluto conjunction at that time. The new conjunction on January 12, 2020 between Saturn and Pluto will also impregnate the collective consciousness with who we are, and what we value. Our consciousness is creating culture and society this very moment. Think of this conjunction as a massive installation of values that will become our new way of being. Can you see yourself as the scribe of the next thirty years, that will create history?

This week, check into your feelings about these issues. How do you look at current Henry the 8th Archetypes? Dictators & Mob dons? Do you feel free? If not, what/who holds you back? Where have you turned a blind eye to exploitation? How much authority do you give yourself to overcome obstacles that are presented by the powers that be? Do you fall into a victim space? (Saturn) requires us to restructure things we’d rather not look at (Pluto). Pluto rules the underbelly and the things we turn our heads away from so we don’t have to look at them! This is not a time for apathy. What if you chose this time to be alive? It's an opportunity to own your power and decide where you want to take that power now.

The aura is the energy field we emanate. When we talk about someone's "energy" we are talking about their aura.

You can feel an aura when someone stands too close behind you in the check out line. It's something you sense when you don't like the "feeling" of someone at a party. You can also feel attracted to someone, via the notes you pick up about their energy.

A person’s auric field comes from the thoughts they think, the emotions they feel, and the ideas they keep around them habitually. Depending on how you resonate with those energies, you may like them or not.

The aura can be seen, (if you are clairvoyant) or felt, if you are an empath. Empaths are people sensitive to how energy feels. If you are an empath you might describe the atmosphere at a party as “heavy and depressing” or “uplifting and happy” but not know why. You just feel it. Your ability is to feel the truth in a situation (whether you want to or not.)

Empaths have a highly developed 2nd chakra, the energy center below your belly button. Because you can feel emotions from others, you may get confused about where the feeling originated. (Is it mine, or someone else’s?)

Let’s talk about why you’d want to pay attention to (and protect) your aura. Here are 3 great reasons to protect your field.

REASON #1 You’ll have more clarity.

Maintaining your aura allows you to be aware of the difference between your own energy and beliefs, and someone else’s.

A strong aura boundary gives you a sense of containment. You’ll feel integrity and inner strength. You can’t get whacked off balance when your aura is intact. If you are someone whose day is wrecked by a negative encounter, then protecting your aura is important. When protected, energy coming from others becomes like “water off a duck’s back,” instead of confusing you, or poisoning your day. You’ll be able to say, “that’s their issue, not mine.”

REASON #2 You’ll feel better, and physically safer.

Our daily interactions require an energy exchange with other people. Depending on the dynamic, at times you may give away too much, and become depleted. This can make you feel drained, crabby, or tired. When you aren’t maintaining your auric field it can actually have gaps, missing places, or cause you to feel physically less present and ungrounded too.

Examples of the deficits in being ungrounded include accidents, bumping into things, having other people bump into you in the checkout line, (for our earlier example), and even trouble being on time, and showing up for things or just navigating your physical world.

I always tell my clients, the more grounded person wins the game, because being strongly grounded with an intact energy field allows you to be more present in all ways. When you are present and focused you are more effective. You feel better physically, have more energy at your disposal, and more vitality.

REASON #3 You’ll have Higher Confidence and Self Esteem.

Confidence is knowing you can accomplish something. Self esteem is how valuable you feel. Two energy centers in the body are major contributors to how we feel about our ability to accomplish, and how we value ourselves. The second and third chakras govern not only who we feel we are, (our identity) but also how much we like who that person is, and enjoy projecting ourselves into the world. When you're solid in who you are, you love to radiate that into the world!

Trouble comes when we have unclear boundaries, feel other people too strongly, and can’t sort out our true inner self. Our identity becomes muddied by other people’s self-image pictures that we are picking up on psychically and feeling AS ourselves. Weird, huh?

How much of what you think is YOU is just the thoughts other people are having about themselves?(Yikes.)

Again, clear aura boundaries give you a way to contain your SELF and protect from taking on too much around you. It reduces self-sabotage and enhances your ambition.When you are clear, you are full of self-esteem and the confidence to project your fabulous self into the world!

How to Maintain and Protect your Aura

Maintaining your aura is a simple, daily practice. Energy follows thought, so you can do it with mental focus by pulling all your energy back to you, then create a boundary around the edge. Or, if you are a kinesthetic type, you may want to literally use your hands to give it a fluff. These actions create mindfulness and let you know when you're needing a little TLC.

If you want to physicalize your auric maintenance, here is a helpful video that teaches Donna Eden’s method for “reweaving” the auric field and doing the zip-up!