Month: February 2019

Think Better, Feel Better

Sharon Leah

It was 5:00 AM when I looked at the clock on the dresser and decided it was way too early to get out of bed. I snuggled deeper into the blankets. The next thought I had was Love yourself unconditionally. I’d been asleep, and an hour had passed.

I know that thought was received, and the reason I know that for sure is because I’m far more inclined to have critical reflections about the day before upon awaking. Thoughts like I could have done __________ better yesterday and I’ll do better today.

And I know it was received because I’ve always pretty much rejected the concept of unconditional love. I’ve heard that I should love unconditionally since I was in Sunday School, but it never made any sense to me. I’d think about people who’d done mean, hateful things and then I’d think No way am I going to love those people unconditionally.

The closest I’ve come to feeling unconditional love is the love I feel for my children. I love them every day no matter what happens. Parents do tend to love their children. But soon after childhood ends, and certainly by the time we become adults, many of us believe we have to earn love from partners, neighbors, employers, and even from their own children.

Consequently, I’ve never extended the same level of acceptance to myself that I give to my children. It never occurred to me that I should love myself that much. Sound familiar?

Why did I receive that thought now?

The conditions were right. I’d been asleep and my mind was not active. And I was asking the right question: How can I feel better? Not, How can I feel better about someone else, but How can I feel better.

Snow and wind

The conditions

I live in St. Paul, Minnesota, and this February is officially the snowiest on record with 31.5 inches of new snow on the ground. Snowbanks are shoulder high and the month isn’t over. It’s been colder than normal, as well. I work from home, but I’ve had to drive through and walk on the snow and ice often enough. Poor travel conditions and too many days being housebound have been really challenging! I’ve spent more than a few hours perusing places like Sanibel Island in Florida or southern California on the computer. I’ve felt confined by the conditions.

I’d grown tired, though, of my irritable self and my ongoing thoughts of escaping to someplace warm and green. I know that regardless of where I go, I have to come back to me and what is here. And so I’ve been thinking more about I can feel good in spite of the circumstances and conditions around me.

“I Surrender”

I’d cried “uncle” and surrendered my resistance to the circumstances AND THEN I heard the answer Love yourself unconditionally. It wasn’t Love others unconditionally, but Love yourself unconditionally.

In that moment, I knew that my desire to feel good in spite of the conditions around me was the answer I needed and wanted. The explanation I’d heard so many times, and that had never made sense or seemed possible to achieve, was missing a key component: Love yourself unconditionally. 

Why now and not before?

Habits of thought, even those thoughts that are self-defeating, often go unchallenged. But when I cared enough about myself to want to feel better, I received a thought about how to feel better.

We get messages in the form of thoughts all the time. Where do thoughts come from? In astrology, the planet Mercury represents thinking and communication. In the myths associated with Mercury, he’s the messenger who carries messages to humans from the gods. Our thoughts cause us to want/desire things in life—relationships, a home, security, creative fulfillment, and so on. Venus represents how we give to and receive from ourselves and others. The Moon represents emotional energy. These are the energies that we use to attract experiences in to our lives.

Thoughts do become things, including habits, in your life. Often, too often, criticism and judgments from others are accepted and then internalized. The conditions (some of which have nothing to do with you and everything to do with the other person) others use to measure your value and worth become the conditions by which you then judge and criticize yourself.

The good news is that habits (patterns of thought) can be stopped AND a belief is only something you continue to believe. Beliefs can be, and often need to be, changed if your goal is to feel good most of the time.

An astrology reading can provide insights that you can use to take charge of your life. Schedule a reading today.

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” — W.M. Lewis

And let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

∼ Sharon

What Do You Want?

Sharon Leah

Jessie Rittenhouse - I bargained with life

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why you must beat the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
~ Jessie Belle Rittenhouse

I’ve long believed that many poets and song writers tune in to and channel messages from the universe. I also believe words don’t teach. We learn from our own experiences. But someone’s words can cause us to reflect on our experiences and, if we’re ready, to see ourselves in a new light.

Desire is the starting point of everything

I chose Rittenhouse’s poem as a jumping off place for this post because it expresses a powerful truth, which is that thoughts turn to things. In other words, You get what you think about and ask for and expect from life. The concept of thoughts turning to things, or your thoughts become your reality, is not my own. Many, including Napoleon Hill, who published Think and Grow Rich (1st edition in 1937), Mahatma Gandhi, Bob Proctor, Norman Vincent Peale, and Abraham Hicks, have spoke and written about this. It’s the Law of Attraction.

In astrology, the Moon represents DESIRE and change, thought and communication are represented by Mercury, and Venus signifies how we ATTRACT what we desire; for example, a relationship or income. These planets generally signify short-term events of a day-to-day nature. But the day-to-day creates a foundation from which we expand into the world, and that’s where we take action and encounter limitations.

Longer-term developments are signified by Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Mars shows where and how actions are likely to occur, Jupiter signifies expansion, laws and morality; and Saturn represents limits and endings.

The Sun stands at the center of your personal universe; it’s the heart of your life.

So, what do you want in you life? Wealth, health, relationships, a new job, more fun?  What is standing in your way? If you’re not sure about what you want, or you’re not getting what you want in your life, analysis of the planets in your birth chart may offer some insight so you can decide what to do next.

What the planets indicate about Jessie Belle Rittenhouse and what she wanted

Jessie Belle Rittenhouse was the daughter of a farmer. The nature of the home of origin and the father are indicated by the fourth house, which is a Gemini house with Mercury as its ruler. Curiosity and communication are Gemini strengths. Mercury is up in the Sagittarius tenth house, along with the Sun and Saturn. Mercury in Sagittarius has a thirst for knowledge. People with this placement are noted for having an “expansive” mind. The mother is represented by the tenth house. What can be assumed, based on the signs of Gemini and Sagittarius, is that both of Rittenhouse’s parents supported her life goals. The Sun in Sagittarius is a strong indicator of someone who is on a quest for knowledge and new experiences. They see opportunities where others see boundaries.

Rittenhouse was born in rural New York state in 1869. What are the chances that she would obtain higher education and break boundaries? Professional opportunities for women were rare in the late 1800s. Churches had developed missionary roles that women could fill. Some women worked in Settlement houses that aided immigrants and the underprivileged. Others worked as nurses. But most young women left school by the eighth grade. By 1900, when Rittenhouse was 31, gender boundaries were still very much in place. She defied the odds however and attended college with her aunts help and generosity.

The third house represents siblings and close relatives, such as cousins, aunts, and uncles. Jupiter, the Sun’s ruling planet, is located in the third house. Jupiter in Taurus often indicates financial good fortune and success with money. Many people with this placement amass fortunes and increase the odds of earning more by acquiring more education. It’s not surprising then to know that Rittenhouse’s aunt supported her through college.

After she graduated, Rittenhouse taught school until she moved to New York City, where she began her literary career. She helped found the Poetry Society of America, many of her friends and acquaintances were contemporary poets, and late in her life, she was a lecturer in poetry at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Thoughts turning to things

The Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius, representing an expansive worldview and INDEPENDENT THINKING (Mercury) that centers around (Sun) an INDEPENDENT LIFESTYLE, are reinforced by DESIRE to be free to explore interests (Venus) and the EMOTIONAL ENERGY (Moon) to get ahead and achieve success in the world where strong friendships (AQUARIUS) are very helpful.

As far as I know, Rittenhouse did not have children. Her poetry was her creative achievement.

Jessie Rittenhouse

Schedule a reading with me and I’ll explain about your birth chart.

Happy Birthday Garth Brooks

Sharon Leah

Garth Brooks

Born February 7, 1962, in Tulsa, Garth Brooks is celebrating his 57th birthday today. With six of seven traditional planets in Aquarius, Garth IS the Aquarius man! Guys like this are slightly wacky, often genius types, who seem to know and get along with almost everyone. Garth achieved the status of best paid and most loved musician in history. Those are some big achievements, and I’m curious about what his birth chart might indicate about his wealth and fame.

Garth Brooks

Fame and fortune are indicated by the 10th house in a chart and a Pisces Moon occupies the 10th in Garth’s chart. The Moon indicates your strongest emotional attachments, security needs, emotional expression, intuition, and how you want to be nurtured. The Moon in Pisces is sensitive, caring, and soulful.

Those who are born under a Pisces Moon are often highly creative and intuitive. Their sensitivity to others can be problematic if they are around negative people and don’t know how to protect themselves from the negativity. In traditional astrology, Jupiter rules Pisces and any planets in Jupiter’s house and under his rulership must perform according to Jupiter’s rules. It would be like you being a visitor in someone’s house. You’d still by you, but what you do and how you do things would be different than if you were staying in your own home. The Moon in this chart still indicates emotions, intuition, etc., and it performs those functions in a Jupiterian style: by being inclusive, tolerant, outgoing, and principled.

Jupiter is next door in the 9th Aquarius house. It’s a VERY BUSY house, too, because the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn are also there. Jupiter in Aquarius is tolerant and values all people equally (he gets along with most people), is an independent thinker, believes in humanitarian causes, and is a good leader (many people benefit from Garth’s leadership). The 9th house is associated with the element of fire; the spirit of the law, morals, beliefs, religion, philosophy, and ethical behaviors. There can be little question that what drives Garth Brooks are his 9th house planets. Every action he takes, every thought he thinks emanates from what he believes is right and just.

Jupiter in the 9th indicates an appreciation for learning, adventure, and adventure. People with this placement always have a clearly defined code of ethics from which they don’t waver, and they have little tolerance for those who don’t. When America’s Got Talent star Michael Ketterer was arrested for domestic violence in 2018 and charged with a felony, Garth stopped sharing the stage with him.

The intuitive, creative Pisces Moon in the 10th must provide for Garth’s emotional expression and his emotional need to achieve fame and fortune via the 9th house Aquarian Jupiter. So, once again, everything Garth does points back to the core of who, what, and why he does what he does: his beliefs, philosophy, morals, and ethics. I’m not suggesting he IS always right and just, but I doubt that he ever strays from what he believes. Whether or not others agree with him is their problem, not his.

 Wealth and Fame Triad

When I want to understand what the chart can reveal about someone’s fame and fortune, I look at the 2nd, 6th, and 10th houses. These three houses are associated with the element of earth, which we associate with wealth and resources. Specifically:

  • 2nd House – reflects the attitude toward money, spending habits, income, and personal resources
  • 6th House – governs work habits, daily routines, service to others, and health
  • 10th House – represents achievement, recognition, status, and fame (or infamy)

Garth’s 2nd house is in the sign Cancer, and Cancer is ruled by the Moon. When Cancer is in the 2nd, emotional security is directly linked to material resources—money, investments, home ownership, and possessions. He must acquire those things for himself and his family through the 10th house (where the Moon is located). Garth is well-known for his astute and focused business acumen. He’s INTUITIVELY smart, diligent, focused, and highly successful.

The 6th house in Garth’s chart is in Scorpio, which is traditionally ruled by Mars. Mars is this chart is located up in the 9th with five other planets. The sign Scorpio is associated with strong drives that can become obsessive and/or extreme, a take-charge attitude, and a preference for solo control.

In an interview with Rare Country, Garth shared some advice he got from his own parents: “Be yourself, dream big, work hard.” Based on what I see in his chart, Garth Brooks can be no one but himself: popular, successful, and driven to acquire emotional security through wealth that he created with his own hard work and high standards for living life.