Signs of Potential

Saluting Our Former Selves

Shannon Garcia — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:37:29 +0000

Photo by Geert Orye (cc)

Yesterday evening I went to an astrology event and ended up reading tarot for the other people at my table. I did a reading for one friend, and even with only a few cards we had a really riveting discussion. It very clearly showed that he had reached the conclusion of the career path he currently has, and whether he stayed in that place or moved on he would need to really head in a new direction to keep growing and to avoid stagnation. He was at a very natural end of this particular path.

“You’re not just changing careers here,” I told him. “You’re changing phases.”

Change is a lot of work. It’s hard even when we want it, even when we’re ready to do it. One of the reasons it’s so hard to choose a new path, and commit to a new stage of growth, is that by definition we’re deciding against doing other things. Holding ourselves back lets us leave the door open on all those other choices just a little longer… just in case. It hurts to shut the door on something we care about, or have invested a lot of ourselves in, even when those things no longer serve us.

So what to do? We don’t want to be paralyzed by the good stuff, but it can still happen. There are a few ways to soften it up a little:

Recognize what you’re moving toward.

This may be a concrete goal, like becoming self-employed, or it may be an ideal you’re working on expressing more fully, like expressing gratitude for things coming into your life. It’s important to know and be able to articulate at least to yourself, what you want- not just what you don’t want to do anymore.

Acknowledge what you’re giving up in the process.

Every conscious choice requires us to choose not to do something else. Even when we are moving toward what we want, we’re still giving up something to do it. Sometimes we’re ambivalent about getting what we’ve worked for, because we’re not letting ourselves mourn the passing of the old things. For example, if you’re moving toward self-employment you will be giving up a steady paycheck, and external structure, a reliable routine, social connections with co-workers, and other things associated with working a “normal” job. Even though you want the flexibility and freedom of working for yourself, these other things are not bad and so it can be hard to choose to give them up. Forcing that ambivalence to stay underground often comes up as resistance and procrastination… sound familiar? I’m still working on this; even being able to name it is a big step.

Give yourself permission to adjust.

Transitions take time. And they always take more time than you want them to. Sometimes part of honoring those things you’re giving up or not-choosing is really mourning them. That takes time too. It’s sad to watch people grit their teeth and tell themselves no dammit, I should be happy because I’m getting what I said I wanted and it’s supposed to feel amazing, even when that’s not always how they’re feeling. It’s ok to be conflicted about the good stuff too.

I almost titled this post “Mourning Our Former Selves”, but I don’t mean it to be such a negative idea. But all these old pieces, the old relationships, the old pastimes and hard lessons, have been part of you even if they’re not who you are anymore. So be kind to yourself as you move forward, please. There is time and space for all of it, and you’re doing enough right now. If you needed to be doing more you would be doing it. Let everything unfold in its right time.

No related posts.

Astrology on the Road (audio)

Shannon Garcia — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:42 +0000

Photo by Wolfgang Staudt (cc)

Today I have an entire hour of Metaphysical Thursday to share with you! I talk with guest host Donna Frindt about the value of getting an astrological reading, getting beyond sun signs, the new moon in Leo, and more current events. At the 34-minute mark we talk at length about the moon cycle, and using the phases of the moon as a guide for your month.

We talk to callers throughout the hour about relationships, visits from the in-laws, navigating major life changes, and finding your place in the world.

I’m working from South Dakota in this segment so the audio gets a little sketchy occasionally, but we have a great time and share a lot of great information. Enjoy this super-sized show!

Healthy You! Radio – 12 August 2010

Four ways to listen – don’t miss it!

Fire in the Skies (audio)

Shannon Garcia — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:03 +0000

Photo by Wolfgang Staudt (cc)

Join me for a full 30 minutes of astrological updates this Metaphysical Thursday! In this segment we look at Mars’ entry into Libra, some ayurvedic cooling practices, and sleep remedies for Aries and Libra folks.

After the break I read tarot for callers with questions- a series of listeners consider marketing their art more seriously, and a caller is learning to adjust to life being less chaotic than usual!

Healthy You! Radio – 29 July 2010

Four ways to listen – don’t miss it!

Hey RSS and Email-RSS People!

Shannon Garcia — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:52:54 +0000

Photo by Nina Matthews (cc)

Oops, I screwed up.

I learned that some of you were getting an “invalid-email” message when you were trying to download the Moon Cycles packet yesterday… if you use the form straight from your email or feed, the newsletter service thinks it’s a spambot trying to steal your address.

You’ll need to click through to the actual post to subscribe: free download goodness

You can also use the newsletter form on the right sidebar of my site.

Give it another go if it didn’t work for you before- I’m sorry about the confusion!

Free Download! Building Momentum with Moon Cycles

Shannon Garcia — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:03:01 +0000

Good news, everyone- I’ve put together a sample of my upcoming ebook Building Momentum with Moon Cycles for you!

Why read this thing?

It’s a mini-guide to using the phases of the moon to time your activities. Stuff has been hard and ridiculous lately, no? Make your daily life simpler by doing your tasks and projects when you have natural support, instead of fighting the current and feeling like you’re not getting anywhere.

It’s a quick read, so you won’t be overwhelmed with another giant pile of new information to process. There is a short list of things you can do to start putting it into practice today. You don’t have to look up other information to use it. And you don’t have to know a single thing about astrology. So if this interests you, but you’re thinking “I’m not an astrologer, and I sure as hell don’t check a planetary calendar 6 times a day”, don’t sweat it. This is just the right tool for you.

How do I get it?

Subscribe to my monthly update, and you’ll get it right now.

If you’re already on the list, you got your copy last night. If you haven’t subscribed yet, I won’t even make you go all the way to the right side of the page- you can do it right here:

(If you’re reading this in your email or RSS and have any trouble, click through to the actual post to subscribe.)

You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Just click the link in the email, and the goods are yours!

I won’t bombard you with messages, and I think spam sucks so no one will ever see your email but me. Once or twice a month you’ll get an update with some astrology news and a calendar of important dates to look out for. (Plus, I’ll be releasing a few free workbooks and mp3s just for my newsletter people soon, so you’ll want to sign up now so you don’t miss those.)

The main book is a work in progress right now so if you’re thinking man, I really hope she talks about xxxx in it, or this part didn’t say enough about yyyy, be sure to tell me what you think.

Enjoy!

Eclipses, Finances, and Changing Careers in Changing Times (audio)

Shannon Garcia — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:10:01 +0000

Photo by lululemon athletica (cc)

Change is still in the air, and today our radio callers were really feeling the change at work.

In the first 27 minutes of this recording Jyotisha astrologer Melanie Farmer and I discuss July’s eclipse patterns, and take calls from listeners.

You can definitely tell I’m not in the studio- I recorded this over a shaky phone from Miami, but the callers are a treat!

Healthy You! Radio – 8 July 2010

Four ways to listen – don’t miss it!

Family Ties (audio)

Shannon Garcia — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:22:58 +0000

Photo by Scott Robinson (cc)

It’s the peak of summer, so we talk about the sign of Cancer, the unique challenges that people with Cancer energy are facing, and ways to nurture the Cancerians in your life. Later on in the show we also talk about reading charts for children and families.

Begin at about the 4:30 mark for this summertime update! Later I take calls from radio listeners, and read charts live on the air. We have a caller with Pluto transiting her Venus, and an Australian listener with career questions (during a Saturn transit, natch).

Healthy You! Radio – 15 July 2010

Four ways to listen – don’t miss it!

A Full Moon Apothecary

Shannon Garcia — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:00:43 +0000

Photo by Laszlo Ilyes (cc)

The moon is full in the sign of Pisces today at 10:05am Pacific time.

My colleague and fellow WSAA member Stephanie Gailing has a lovely piece about today’s full moon over at her site, Planetary Apothecary. One tiny excerpt that jumped out at me:

The combination of Virgoan and Piscean energy can be a powerful elixir for our health as well as provide solutions to dis-ease in other areas of our life.

Stephanie is an astrologer with a nutritionist background (can you tell she’s a Taurus moon like me?) so her blog is a great source of information about using herbs, flower essences, and natural remedies during planetary cycles. Be sure to check out her site archives, and take a look at her new book.

Reviving the Exhausted Healer

Shannon Garcia — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:38:29 +0000

Photo by Andreas Levers (cc)

Last week I went to a talk at East West titled Reviving the Exhausted Healer. Is that a timely topic or what?

Gretchen Lawlor, another local astrologer, gave a great presentation that was really useful for all different practitioners that attended: massage therapists, reiki healers, astrologers, naturopaths, and others. I came away with a lot of great remedies for fatigue and burnout.

It was one of those presentations full of the sage advice you give to other people, but that is so great to have someone giving back to YOU. Best class fee I’ve paid in a while. What a relief to be in a room full of other people where each knew how the others were feeling!

Compassion Fatigue

Gretchen reviewed the concept of “compassion fatigue”, or burnout as a lot of us know it (compassion fatigue sounds so much more… compassionate, in a way, though). My biggest takeaway from this portion was that a certain level of compassion fatigue is a natural and inevitable result of being in a healing field… burnout is what results when we don’t listen to the warning signs that we need a break.

Next we explored different signs of fatigue in different people. Impatience, spaciness, reclusiveness, lack of focus, tight muscles, and even accidents were some of the things people mentioned as being their own markers of burnout.

A healer’s responsibility is to become a clear channel.

She was very clear with us that ignoring the signs of fatigue is ultimately more harmful for everyone, not just ourselves, because we can only do our best work when we are well-rested, healthy, and willing to engage in our own self-care. That goes for everyone, really- we’re all healers in one way or another.

Remedies

It’s therapeutic to talk about all these things with other people who understand, but what made this a great presentation was that we came away with a large list of things we could do. Here are a few of the big ones:

Practicing feng shui/space clearing in homes and offices
Incorporating sacred sound into practice
Practicing grounding routines regularly
Using flower essences (clematis, walnut, and St. John’s Wort in particular)
Being diligent about nutrition (including vitamins if needed)
Taking epsom salt baths regularly
Adding more protein to the diet
Getting a moderate amount of exercise

A good point she made, and one that I’ve been discussing quite a bit throughout this time of Creative Initiation, is that things that used to work well for you may not work anymore. It might be time to bring some fresh ideas into your routines, in order to stay healthy and sane these days. Overall, I was really happy I went- I attended on a whim and was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of information I came away with.

If you are in the Seattle area, Gretchen Lawlor is a regular guest expert at East West Bookshop and gives free tea leaf readings in their tea garden on the last Wednesday of the month.

A Full Moon Apothecary

Mercury Retrograde… Reduce, Reuse, Recuperate

Shannon Garcia — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:11:05 +0000

Photo by Dan Foy (cc)

I’m finally crawling out of my cave now.

This summer’s Creative Initiation adventure has been affecting us all in different areas of life, and for me it involved my husband and I uprooting from Florida for good, and coming back here to the Northwest. After a 4400-mile road trip that got longer as we traveled, we both declare that we are never, ever, moving again (although with Uranus in the 4th I can only hope that’s true).

I continued to appear on my Thursday radio segment while I was traveling, so I have quite a few audio posts for you as well.

We had a grand adventure, to be sure: a tour of Atlanta, some time with my family up north, a great stay in Chicago, national parks, and of course, lots of cornfields. It wreaked havoc on our schedules and our blogs, but we’re settling back into Seattle now and life is getting back on track.

A lot of people run around like the sky is falling before the few weeks that Mercury turns retrograde, but I’ve always found these three-week periods to be unusually productive. It may be because Mercury is retrograde in my birth chart, so this is one of the few times of the year that the rest of the world is in step with me! I joke that I have a Mercury retrograde vaccine- I’m inoculated against some of the more annoying side effects.

No matter where Mercury falls in your chart, now is the time to go back and revisit old projects, to revise your plans, to reestablish good habits, and to recover a bit from this intense summer we’ve been having. People with Gemini or Virgo in their chart tend to have it a bit rougher during these times, but we’re all affected to some degree.

Mercury is retrograde in the sign of Virgo from August 20, 2010 to September 12, 2010. What areas of your life need attention right now? What old projects and ideas can you resurrect at this time?