On June 20th, the Sun enters the 30-degree portion of the Zodiac we know as Cancer. Cancer is the first astrological sign of Summer, its beginning indicated by the Summer Solstice. The constellation of Cancer is one of the least visible in our time but was one of the first constellations named. It is no coincidence that family vacations, reunions and weddings fill our calendars during the caring and family-oriented sign of Cancer.

Cancer is complex and variable in temperament coinciding with the variability in appearance of its ruler, the Moon. This yin, cardinal, water sign is nurturing, protective, tenacious and emotionally sensitive, with strong roots. It can also be smothering, timid reclusive and unwilling to let go.

June 21^st is Litha, the Summer Solstice and a Solar Eclipse. The Sun and Moon are both in Cancer today.

The word Solstice is Latin in origin and means "The Sun stood still". On June 21, the North Pole is tilted most directly Sunward. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere experience this as the longest day and shortest night of the year. On December 21, the Winter Solstice, the North Pole is pointed away from the Sun giving us in the Northern Hemisphere, our shortest day and longest night. This tilting of the Earth's rotational axis gives us our seasons. During each Solstice, the Sun appears to both rise and set at the exact same spot on the horizon. This is how the Solar Calendars like Stonehenge and the Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico operate.

Litha is a Fire Festival, usually celebrated with a bonfire or community Bar-be-que. Traditionally, there would be mummer's plays and dancing culminating with dancers actually leaping through the flames as the fire burned lower. Amulets or magickal tools that have served their purpose or have broken are added to the fire at this festival. The solstices were know in Babylonian astrology as "the portals" identifying Cancer and Capricorn as the time when the "veil between the worlds" is most permeable. This is the origin of the European tradition of seeing fairies and ghosts or spirits on Midsummer's and Midwinter's Eve'. I haven't gotten around to confirming it yet but I've read that, even now, most sightings of Angels, UFOs, etc. coincide with these portal periods of Cancer and Capricorn.

This is a great webpage about ancient solar architecture.
 

Click here for more information about Seattle’s Fremont Fair.

June 29^th to July 15^th

Inga is in a Clinical Hypnotherapy Certification seminar from 9 AM to 7 PM everyday at the Institute for Therapeutic Learning. Specific issues that can be addressed with hypnotherapy include: compulsive habits, stress management, pain control, healing of self-confidence and intimacy problems and addictive patterns. I’ll be learning great stuff that I can put into my practice right away. Appointments will be available again after the 15^th. Meanwhile… I’ll do my best to keep up with my voice mail and email every day but please be patient with me! Thanks!

July 4^th is American Independence day

America’s Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, thus establishing the United States as a nation independent of British rule. The American Revolutionary War had already started in April, 1775, when British troops fired on the colonists who gathered to warn the American citizens that the British were coming to seize John Hancock, John Adams, and their munitions. The war ended in October of 1781, six years later, when British General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown.

The Revolution website offers a chance to join in national discussions of American revolutionary origins.

July 5^th is a Full Moon in Capricorn combined with a lunar eclipse

The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration especially as they apply to your career and reputation in the world. Black stones like onyx and jet would be most appropriate for this ritual.

July 16, 2000 was also a full moon and lunar eclipse in Capricorn. Look back and see what happened to you around that time. This is how our understanding of earth magic grows, through observation and memory.

July 6^th is the IEM Get-together! Be there or be in retrograde!

July 20^th the Sun Enters Leo, Phase: new moon in Cancer. Leo Newsletter arrives!  

July 21 & 22 is the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival

This is a great afternoon in the park watching local belly dancing troupes perform, honest! Every belly dancer from 6 year olds to professional dancers come out to meet each other and sell costumes and supplies. It is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW, West Seattle, WA.

Pearls are formed within an oyster or mussel. An irritant is introduced into the shellfish either through ingestion (natural pearl) or the introduction of a glass bead (cultured pearl) The shellfish deposits layer after layer of the mineral aragonite (called nacre) out of its tissues onto the irritant in order to render it harmless and a pearl is formed. The luster of a pearl is caused by the way light refracts among the overlapping layers of nacre.  Freshwater pearls grow in the muddy-bottomed rivers of Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and the USA (predominantly in the Mississippi River).

Pearls feel beautifully silky and luxurious against the skin. They resonate to Cancer both because of their milky color and the way they grow nurtured and hidden like a baby within the mussel. This is why the rainbow colored inner shell of the oyster is named Mother of Pearl. The theme of motherhood is seen again in the story of Venus born from the foam of the Ocean and nurtured within an oyster as shown in this painting: The Birth of Venus by Boticelli.

Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic Jewelry.

Peg Duggan gets the credit for turning me on to this book.  I bought the audio version from www.audible.com and have listened to it twice. This is a novel about the Old Testament character Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob. Dinah narrates her story talking conversationally about her mother and aunts, her brothers, her son. Household practices and the private lives of that era are well researched and described.  The novel travels from Haran to Egypt to tell Dinah’s story with long descriptive passages. The imagery is evocative and the prose is lyrical. I definitely recommend the audio version -being read to by Carol Bilger is wonderful. This is old-time story telling, and listening to it forces you to slow down and really experience the rhythm of the language.

Something I found very interesting is the amount of controversy surrounding this book. Amazon has 365 reader reviews on their webpage and they run the gamut from: “What a beautiful read! I was so mesmerized by the tale of this family and the women that held it together, I could not put the book down “ to “It is earthy and vulgar and filled with descriptions that belong with private matters.” Then on to “We read it in our book club and it was unanimous that it is an excellent novel.” And then to my favorite… “I was expecting a biblically accurate novel, instead I got what I believe to be a feminist, anti-Bible account.” Or how about, “It was absolute slander against the forefathers of the Jewish and Christian faith.” Which leads me to believe that these particular reviewers have not read either The Red Tent or their Bibles. Oh well! The negative reviews focus on a few issues:

• That Jacob's wives and daughters practiced their own local fertility-based religion, 

• That "historical" characters are embroidered and

• That it makes Jacob and Rebekah look bad. 

So... here is my take on these: 

• Genesis is all about the birth of monotheism from pagan polytheism. Jacob was differentiating himself from his neighbors by his adherence to his own family's God while his wives had their various household Gods. This didn't become a big issue until Moses made it the first of the ten commandments. I have to assume that "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" wouldn't have been at the top of the list of commandments unless polytheism wasn't still the norm.

• Are these characters more historic than Queen Elizabeth or Henry the 5th or Richard Nixon? We devour movies and books about these guys without balking so where does the problem lie? Sorry, I guess my answer is a rhetorical question. To me another view is refreshing. I love to debrief after a conversation and see what everyone else heard and thought was going on. This book is meant to be Dinah's version of events, not Jacob's.

• This question makes me wonder what bible version these people read! I never thought Jacob was much of a person to look up to. He is a conniver who allows his mother, Rebekah, to destroy his relationship with his twin brother for her own manipulative reasons. We are talking about a dysfunctional family here. -- Inga Duncan Thornell >^..^<

Click here to learn more about purchasing this book from Amazon.com.

Also available unabridged on cassette, read by Carol Bilger, from Amazon.com. Click here to learn more. 

The Infinite Loop Lunar Calendar  

This is a beautiful and useful item that you can use every day, created by Trevor Trifiro of Seattle! Scott and I have them next to our desks. Sensitivity to the moon’s phase and cycle thru the zodiac can do wonders for the effectiveness of your projects and rituals plus they just look cool on your wall! I have information sheets on Using the Phases of the Moon and on The Moon thru the Signs posted in the Library on this website. 

Yes, the year is half over but that stills leaves half a year in which you can get your act together with this marvelous, artistic reference guide!

Trevor is selling them for $7 each if you pick one up from him locally or $11 each if you'd like him to ship it to you in a tube. Click here to e-mail him: Infiniteloopdesign@mail.com -- Inga Duncan Thornell

Inga quotes from Itzhak Bentov: “Imagine a rock in the desert. This inanimate (yet not “dead” as we perceive it) object has a very low level of consciousness. Its threshold of consciousness is stimulated by contact with various small animals in the area who regard the rocks as a safe haven against predators and the elements. When a human being who is sensitive to vibrations travels through this stretch of desert, he may sense something “different” about this particular stone. If he is of a faith which accepts the idea of animism and spirits, his awe of the stone may turn into homage, and then worship of it, thereby boosting the rock’s embryonic consciousness even further and eventually the spirit of the stone is turned into a God.”

What's your definition of what makes something sacred? Please e-mail us your thoughts or bring them to the next IEM party and let's explore it.

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in be it Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc., as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions!

"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." - Lao Tzi, Tao Te Ching

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow." - Robert H. Goddard

We've always wondered what would happen if we got the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic (IEM) into a room together. Why? Because every one of us has a unique gift to offer to the world. And if we get enough of us in one place at the same time, something magical is bound to occur.

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. Please join us for dinner. We start eating around 6:30 PM. Or join us for dessert later on!
• Where: Our place (click on LIBRARY in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and then MAP ROOM for directions)
• What to bring: Just your enthusiasm and love! There's a big pot of pasta on the stove and plenty of microbrews and red wine. If you have specific preferences, please bring whatever you'd like.
• How long: Until the witching hour, midnight, at which time Scott turns into a pumpkin. It's quite a sight! If you'd like, you can spend the night on one of the couches with the kitties or bring your sleeping bag and mat and camp out on the floor of Inga's office.
• RSVP: Just let us know in advance via e-mail or phone if you are coming and if you are bringing guests so we don't run out of food or beer!

Many of you know that I've switched jobs and it has been a wonderful and challenging adventure for me. It has in fact, demanded a great deal of my energy and my other pursuits, with the exception of motorcycling, have suffered. I'm finally catching my breath and able to return to writing this column along with some other long overdue house projects. The last column I wrote described my embarkation on a body modification project. That journey has led to new insights and healings on my part with Inga's assistance and that of a good friend, Ron.

First off, I've "discovered" my root chakra! In other words, the intention of cleansing that chakra combined with yoga opened up that energy center in my lower body. I remember the moment that opening occurred. I was doing a yoga pose that was really stretching my spine and all of a sudden, a flood of sensuousness flooded through me as the base of my spine flexed and released a lot of pent up tension. I was actually embarrassed and shocked by it but as I felt an enhanced flow of energy up and down my spine, I let go and explored the sensation. The newness of it all made me realize how long it's been since my spine was not bound up in scar tissue or fused by surgery. 

So what happens now that energy is flowing more freely through my root chakra? The color red is associated with this chakra. I've had a color blindness problem with red since childhood. I can see reds at certain times in specific conditions and at other times, it has been easy to confuse it with other colors or not see it at all. Because I have had such difficulty with red, I've never been very attracted to it. Since my chakra cleansing, I have suddenly found myself not only seeing red very clearly but also being very drawn to it. I find myself staring with a sense of wonder at bright, red sportbikes at the motorcycle dealership. I figure it's either related to the chakra issue or I'm starting to have a midlife crisis and I need more fast, red toys in my life!

The root chakra is associated with the planet Mars and the sign of Aries which represents action, grounding and assertiveness. Since my root chakra activation, I find myself getting clearer on what I want in my life (Aries) and taking action (Mars) on healthy, grounded routines that will bring balance to my body and my daily life. Click here to view Inga's Chakras guide for more information.

Ron and Inga have guided me in meditation and we've uncovered a direct correlation between my subsurface anger and my overweight condition. During these astral travel sessions, I've been able to safely explore the past lifetime (Civil War) that contains the incidents that led to my emotional scarring. Just the act of viewing and acknowledging these events gives me space to forgive myself and begin the healing process. Better yet, Inga has further guided me in healing the events by reliving them and revising them by bringing love into the situations where it was absent before thus healing me and the other participants. I'll share more about this in our Leo 2001 issue. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

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