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BE AT PEACE

4/21/2015

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TAURUS – The Bull
April 20 – May 20, 2015

Life Purpose

Self Assurance; Clear Sense of Values;

Worry-free Management of Resources


Positive Archetype
s—the Essential Nature of Taurus
The… Rustic; Farmer; Solid Citizen; Self Assured One; Prosperous One; Sensualist/Voluptuary; Hard Worker; Grounded One; Reliable One; Peace Maker; the Farmer; Hunter Gatherer

Negative Archetypes
--Learning Experiences for Taurus
The… Materialist/Hoarder/Glutton; Workaholic; Slacker;
Reactionary/Stubborn Mule; Lecher; Miser/Skinflint




BUFFALO

Great Shaggy Mane
Moves across the plain,
Horns lowered, eating grass,
Moving slowly, lets life pass
Feels the calm that silence brings…
Listens while the cricket sings–
Peace, an endless flowing river–
Reverence that goes on forever;

But sensitive to Inner Reasons,
Bison migrates with the seasons,
Knowing when it’s time to go
With Mother Nature’s ebb and flow…

Great Shaggy Mane
Moves across the plain,
Horns lowered, eating grass,
Moving slowly, lets life pass…


—Lark Bowerman


    Did you know that an American bison, weighing in at a ton or more, can jump as high as six feet? They can run at speeds of up to 40 mph  or 65 kmph as well. Able to jump a standard height barbed wire fence, this is not our docile domesticated ox (what we call “cows”); however, I strongly suspect that the ox, before domestication had a similar strength and willpower as the Bison (usually inaccurately called “buffalo.”) Even so, the bovine family are known for their generally peaceful natures. It’s hard to get one of them angry but if you do, watch out!

    In The Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, we learn that “Because of it’s desire to give the gifts that it’s body provided, and because of its willingness to be used on Earth for the highest good before entering the hunting grounds of spirit, Buffalo did not readily stampede and run from hunters.”

    To many North American tribes, Buffalo was the medicine of prayer and abundance. Although they believed that all animals are sacred, White Buffalo was considered the most sacred and when it appeared, a sign that prayers were being answered.

    The legend of White Buffalo Calf Woman tells how she brought the gift of the Medicine pipe to the Lakota tribe. The pipe bowl represented the feminine aspect of life. The pipe stem represented the masculine entering and seeding the feminine. Natural Tobacco, an herb with both masculine and feminine energies, represented connection to the divine energy of the Great Mystery in the coming together of male and female. The smoke rising from the pipe when used in this time-honored way is prayer made visible as it ascends to Great Spirit.

“The medicine of Buffalo is prayer, gratitude and praise for that which has been received. Buffalo medicine is also knowing that abundance is present when all relations are honored as sacred, and when gratitude is expressed to every living part of creation.”
–The Medicine Cards
Jamie Sams & David Carson



    Not quite the way we tend to think of “cows,” is it? And yet when you penetrate to the essence of the astrological symbolism for the sign of Taurus, it’s obvious that the Celtic ancestors experienced Oxen in much the same way as the North American tribes experience buffalo.

    Peacefulness, filled with reverence and gratitude; self assurance coming from worry-free management of resources which creates abundance and prosperity. These are all attributes of a person whose nature is strongly influenced by this sign in a positive way.

Where could the downside of this archetype even be, we might ask?

Well, you could think of what happened in the slaughter of the buffalo…

    The demise or imprisonment of North American Plains tribes on reservations was accomplished as their principle food supply disappeared. Gluttony and greed burned at fever pitch while thousands upon thousands of buffalo were shot and skinned to make winter coats to be sold in the cities, creating the fortunes (if you call that a “fortune”) of the European hunters.

    From 1873 for a decade, it’s estimated that commercial hide hunting outfits killed from 2,000 to 100,000 animals a day. The slaughter of the buffalo, who are considered a keystone species, left the prairie ecosystem sadly off kilter. The coming of the railroad, dividing up of the land and unsustainable farming methods all led to the Dust Bowl storms of the 1930’s.

    Old timers remember such things as chickens roosting at midday because dust storms made the sky so dark the chickens thought it was night; or a truck being blown 30 to 40 feet down a street! Not to mention it being impossible to keep houses clean… http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/index.html

    Or you can think about fracking, clear cutting etc. (remembering that each of us has Taurus represented somewhere in our chart.)

    So we can conclude that someone strongly influenced by Taurus energy could, on the negative side, experience being caught up in materialistic concerns at the expense of emotional and spiritual considerations; would be overlooking the experience of gratitude for what has been given in focusing on what they don’t have; could be indulging in hoarding and gluttony and in so doing, working themselves to death, possibly
misusing a natural gift of tremendous physical strength; or could be just plain lazy, leeching off the efforts of others. In considering the negative aspect of this sign we could also consider one of history’s most infamous Taureans, Adolph Hitler, a leader who came to power at a time when the people of his country felt poor and needy.

    But let’s reel back to the positive side, the essence, of all of this again.

    Isn’t gratitude, I mean genuine GRATITUDE, one of the most beautiful of all human experiences? And the simple, uncomplicated state of REVERENCE for life?

    And doesn't this attitude lead to true abundance?

    Relaxing in an unspoiled natural environment, or perhaps listening to beautiful music, dancing, eating delicious and nutritious food, touching and being touched sensitively and lovingly, reveling in the sensual pleasure of love-making, acquiring all the necessary resources to support all of these activities, these are the things that
a balanced Taurus does.

    In this case, what a nice calm, artistic, self-assured and re-assuring, patient, forgiving person to be around, eh? Am I lucky to be married to one of these creatures or what!

Let me leave you now, with this poem from the Medicine Cards.

                Buffalo…
                      You bring us,
                           The gifts of life.

                Hear our prayers,
                    Smoke rising
                          Like Phoenix,

                We are reborn,
                     Within the sacred words.


                – Jamie Sams and David Carson


Recommended reading:
Medicine Cards – book and cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, available from Amazon
Buffalo Woman Comes Singing by Brooke Medicine Eagle, available from Amazon. You’ll find a deeply inspiring version of the legend of White Buffalo Calf Woman in this book.



copyright © 2015 Lark Bowerman
www.aquariusastrological.com


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FIGHT THE INNER FIGHT FIRST

4/10/2015

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Aries
March 21 – April 20, 2015

By Lark Bowerman

Positive Archetypes for Aries

The…
Champion/Defender/ Rescuer/Protector/Spiritual Warrior; Pioneer; Daredevil; Survivor; Adventurer; Heroine/Hero

Negative archetypes for Aries
The… Warmonger; Mercenary Soldier; Bully; Coward; Reckless Fool; Bitch/Brawler; Thug; Deserter/Traitor



High on a rocky slope a small group of mountain sheep suddenly becomes aware that they’ve been cornered by a cougar. A thousand foot precipice gapes on two sides, a sheer rock cliff blocks their retreat. The cougar crouches in their only escape route, ready to pounce. Horns lowered, the largest ram turns and charges only a split second before the puma leaps.  The two animals collide. The force of the ram’s horns break the mountain lion’s jaw, hurling the cat into the gorge. The Ram struggles to regain its footing on the icy slope, coming to a halt just one foot from the canyon edge. For the moment, the mountain sheep are safe.

Few animals are so well adapted to extremes of elevation and temperature as the bighorn sheep. Their agility and swiftness are almost unrivalled. Their eyesight is so acute that they can detect slight movement from as far as a kilometer away. All of these characteristics, as well as the inaccessible terrain where they live to avoid predators, are what has made them one of the most sought after prizes of the trophy hunter.

But those massive horns of the male sheep are not so often used in defense as they are in butting contests during the mating season. Two males will face one another, rearing up on their back feet, then falling forward onto all fours, they charge each other at speeds anywhere from 20 to 70 miles per hour. The resounding crack of their horns colliding can be heard a mile away. This can go on for up to twenty hours or more. Because of the rams’ strong heads with double layers of bone to protect the brain they can test each other’s strength this way.  The winner will afterward follow the nearest ewe to mate.

A pregnant ewe will seek out a high, isolated area to give birth, usually to a single lamb who will begin practice jumps from her back when only about an hour old! After the mating, during the winter months, the whole flock will travel together under the leadership of a mature ewe.

Is it any wonder that these magnificent animals serve as the astrological symbol for the warrior and the lesson of courage? And yet, do you find it interesting, as I do, that this animal is prey, not predator?

    Exit: The Trophy Hunter
    Enter: The Spiritual Warrior.


According to one of China’s most profound philosophers, Lao Tse,
        The best soldier is not soldierly.
        The best fighter is not ferocious.
        The best conqueror does not take part in war.


This philosophy is clearly demonstrated by the legendary Shaolin monk-soldiers of China. Weapons literally shatter on the bodies of these Kung Fu masters! How do these men, who spend their lives in quiet seclusion, who meditate a good portion of their day along with their martial training and subsist on a vegetarian diet, have such astonishing power? And what is their goal in acquiring such power? To “become the Buddha.”

In our Western tradition, the Knights of King Arthur’s Roundtable went out in search of the Holy Grail, sacred elixir of spiritual enlightenment. During the Medieval period in Europe, religious visionaries were occasionally given titular command of the army, as happened in the case of the heroine, Joan of Arc, who rallied French troops against the invading Britons; but we also know that Joan, after being captured by the British and sentenced in a mock trial, was burned at the stake as a supposed witch. Truth is, most historical and present day wars are clear expressions of the absolute worst traits in human beings — sagas of exploitation, greed, vengeance, rape and torture — all lower expressions of the archetype of the warrior. Obviously, this is not the easiest energy to handle! But war is only one arena for learning the lesson of courage…

Monday morning dawns rainy and cold. As you reach over to turn off the alarm, you feel as though a half pound of cold lead is lodged in the pit of your stomach. Work! Your boss! You know that if you don’t ask for a raise sometime soon, your self esteem will be totally going down the tubes.

You wake up, dress. Gulp down a few mouthfuls of breakfast and head for the door. Arriving at work, you manage to make an appointment to talk with the “tyrant.” Later that day, knees shaking, you manage to sit down calmly in front of her desk. What you really feel like is screaming, “YOU BITCH!”colour and launching into a tirade on all of the indignities inflicted on you, but you contain yourself. In a well-planned speech you first acknowledge one of her best points. (You really had to work on that.)  Then you briefly but clearly mention the problem of being grossly underpaid and overworked in your most casual voice, while your pulse races to an absurd tempo and your palms turn sweaty. You conclude with a simple, but honest thank you for an almost insignificant concession that has already been made and then rest your case.

Your boss has been stopped in her tracks. That someone even had the courage to speak up is a frontal assault on her denial and she knows it. That the problem has been stated clearly and yet without anger or insult leaves her with no more excuses.

She keeps her composure, promising to consider your request. You both rise and as your turn to leave, the cloud of depression that has haunted you for months has lifted. You walk down the street, and for the first time this spring, you notice the colour of the daffodils and the lightness in your step matches the gush of pure happiness and vitality that wells up from the core of your being.

Does your boss’s decision matter one way or the other any more? No, not ultimately. “Hey!” you think, “Now that I’ve got my courage up, I might just go ahead and start my own business!” What mattered the most is that you were true to yourself. You refused to allow yourself to be victimized any longer by your own fears or rage. You are have fought the fight of the spiritual warrior. Your soul is free! The Holy Grail is not some fantasy out of a dusty Medieval legend. You’ve claimed it through your own experience. You’ve learned the lesson of Aries.
   
If there is no enemy within, the enemy without can do us no harm.

                                           — African proverb




© 2015 www.aquariusastrological.com

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    Author

    LARK was born and grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa and came to Canada at the age of eighteen to study at the Nova Scotia College of Art  & Design. A lifetime traveler, and a singer-song writer, she has lived on four continents and in nine countries including the USA, the Czech Republic and China. It has given her many opportunities to pursue her passion—studying people.

    Western Astrology came into her life in 1973 through a group of friends running a natural foods restaurant. Her first reaction was, “You’ve gotta be kidding!” But since she was already naturally curious about people’s personalities, it didn’t take long for her to become intrigued with the subject.


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