 Capricorn
2005 Edition
Happy Birthday to all you Capricorns! The mountain goat or more anciently, the sea-goat
represents Capricorn. The Babylonian God, Ea, was Capricorn's time of year is winter. This is when we celebrate our family and religious traditions by gathering with our family and friends. We collectively look back on the past year and forward to the New Year. Discovering more about our traditions and celebrating our own family heritage is very much a Capricorn activity. Go ahead and watch some Christmas shows together but take some time to tell your own family stories too. The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke: Question: How many Capricorns does it take to change a light bulb? Capricorn: I don't waste my time with these childish jokes. Note: I have no idea who originally wrote this. Erika sent it to me years ago and I still think it’s as funny as it is insightful! December 21st is the Winter Solstice: The Sun enters Capricorn on the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year as well as the traditional Yule Festival. This is the time when the people of the Northern Hemisphere celebrate birth and renewal. Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus, the Greeks celebrated the birth of Apollo, the Persians celebrated the birth of Mithras, and the Romans celebrated the birth of Sol Invictus. The festival of Sol Invictus lasted until December 25th. Christianity eventually supplanted the Solar Cult and in the fourth century, the Roman Emperor, Constantine, issued a royal decree making December 25th the commemoration of the birth of Jesus the Christ. December 25th is Christmas: “The Mesopotamians celebrated the end of the year by supporting the god Marduk in his annual battle with the powers of chaos. At the Zagmuk festival celebrating Marduk's success, gifts were exchanged. The Xmas Story says: “Christmas began there in Mesopotamia over 4000 years ago as the festival which renewed the world for another year. The "Twelve Days" of Christmas; the bright fires and probably the Yule log; the giving of presents; carnivals with their floats; merrymakings and clownings; the mummers singing and playing from house to house; the feastings; church processions with their lights and song-- all these and more began there centuries before Christ was born.” -- From the History Channel website. December 25th is Kwanzaa: “Kwanzaa is a spiritual, festive and joyous celebration of the oneness and goodness of life, which claims no ties with any religion.” “The focus of Kwanzaa is centered around the seven principles (Nguzo Saba) with particular emphasis on the unity of our Black families. It is a time for gathering of our families, and for a rededication to manifesting the principles of Kwanzaa as a way of life for Black Americans.” -- From the Kwanzaa Information Center website. December 30th is a New Moon: The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision. To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library. December 31st is New Year's Eve. January 1st is New Year's Day. January 5th is Twelfth Night, the evening before Epiphany: It marks the end of the traditional 12-day Christmas festivities. This was the day the three chaldean astrologers or "wise men" also called kings visited the infant Jesus. Europeans celebrated Twelfth Night by going out to sing and wassail or drink to the health of their neighbors, animals and orchards. Children would leave their shoes in front of the door to be filled with sweets. And a King of Bean and sometimes a Queen, would preside over the 12th night revelries. The King and Queen were the pair who found a special bean found inside a cake called a gateau des rois. Jan 6th is the First Friday of the month and the Dunthor Open House! Click here to see details below. January 14th is a Full Moon: 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. To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library. Stone of the Sign - Agate
This is one of two incredible agate snow scenes I picked from my favorite cab cutter. I wrapped this one in a crisp clean style the other one has a curly design at the top. Agate is microcrystalline quartz, a member of the chalcedony family. According to tradition, it builds self-confidence and aids digestion. Agate is grounding and helps you achieve better physical and emotional balance. Agate works to raise consciousness and lead us to accept ourselves more fully. Silver is a conductor of energy and is said to aid in communication, it improves the transmission of nerve impulses. According to tradition, it is a good metal for healing purposes because it is in tune with the body. Silver can reduce anxiety and help you to relax when solving problems. It is believed to help conduct the energy of stones into your body and auric field. On sale this month: 55.00 USD Click here to see this item and more in my Jewelry Catalog. To learn more about how to use Gemstones in your
daily life, see "What
Gemstones Should I Wear?" guide in our
Library. Inga's
Space
Click here to see a beautiful illustration of the solstice effect on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website. A comment from Scott about this: "I have three side by side, east facing windows in my office at work. After a year and a half of observing the shifting path of the sun, I just mentioned to a coworker that I could label the window sill with the months of the year thus creating a solar calendar." Here is another book review from the archives: The Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron Author Julia Cameron describes this 12-week program as a course in discovering and recovering your creative self. If it sounds like an AA type 12-step program that is because it is! I would liken it to a "Course in Miracles" for the rest of us. Introduced as a workshop in the early 1980s it has won the reputation of being a life-changing event for all who have committed the time to completing it. She advocates common sense daily practices that will open you up to your own voice. This is spiritual awakening at its gentlest. Practices include morning pages, affirmations, and self-examination through tasks and journaling exercises. Now, before it starts to sound like a chore… most are fun and all are enlightening. Here are two exercises from week 4: “Time Travel: Describe yourself at eighty. What did you do after fifty that you enjoyed? Be very specific. Now, write a letter from you at eighty to you at your current age. What would you tell yourself? What interests would you urge yourself to pursue? What dreams would you encourage?” “Open your closet. Throw out – or hand on, or donate –one low-self-worth outfit. (You know the outfit.) Make space for the new.” -- Inga Duncan Thornell >^..^<Letters from our Readers 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! A quote from Scott: "Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?" -- Lao-Tzu A funny from Stewart: Subject: No wonder we cannot spell. European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English". In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with “z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl . From Stephanie: This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed. It is reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal. SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy. I'll be waiting.... Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever. From Kindel: PONDERISMS I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes. Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway. There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead. Life is sexually transmitted. Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to? Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again. All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism. In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first. How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests? If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from? Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup? Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window? Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster? Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? Do you ever wonder why you gave me your email address? The Monthly Dunthor Open House Please come join in the community that has been created over the years with the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic. You'll find insight, sharing, healing and fellowship and you are most welcome.
The Duncan
Domain
Knowing the time has come, I immediately get to work on sending him
strength and love to assist him with this transition. In order to send
such energy, all fear and anxiety must be cast off and my mind must be
still. I'm always striving to broadcast such energy all the time but in
hindsight, I can now see that it's easier for me to be properly focused
and grounded when I'm doing this for someone else. (I'm sensing a self
worth issue needing my healing attention.) Anyway, I spend the day at
work with my consciousness shifted to see the spirit realm and the
tunnel of Light required for the passage of a soul. Around 5 PM, I head
downstairs to the coffee shop to get a refill and as I come back out
into the building lobby, the tunnel of Light suddenly becomes much
brighter and expands to fill my vision. Standing before the tunnel is
Hank. He is looking at me and has a beautiful smile on his face. I am
filled with joy at the sight. He tells me that the passage is now open
for his mortal self, thanks me for my assistance and assures me that it
will not be long. By 9 PM that evening, he is gone. I am asked to speak at the funeral so I spend four or five days reviewing my memories of him and composing a speech. I ask Hank and my spirit guides to assist me in honoring his memory and they comply with my request. Here's what I said at the service in a tiny community center, originally a school built in 1879, in Arivaca, Arizona: "My name is Scott and I'm the eldest of Hank's adopted sons. There are so many people here tonight that I do not know but it just occurred to me what we have in common. We all know and love Hank and I'm hear to share with you what I know about him. I first met Hank when I was only ten. He arrived at a time when my mom and her 3 sons so dearly needed stability, security, and a sense of home and family. I was instantly drawn to him. Somehow I knew his heart was good and true and he gave me real hope that we now actually had a chance to be a family." "It must have been daunting to become an instant father to three unruly boys but he made it very clear in everything he said and did that he truly loved us as his own. In that, he never wavered regardless of how sorely we tested him and Lord knows we did."
"It has taken me years to fully comprehend what a profound role model Hank has been for me:
"Most of all, I will remember him for the love he shared with Mom. I grew up watching two people who were deeply in love. I saw their respect for each other, how they held hands everywhere they went, how they snuggled and kissed, how they truly enjoyed being together as often as possible. They shared a special friendship and I came to realize that I wanted such a relationship more than anything else in life. With such a clear example of what I was looking for and my heart as my guide, I, too, have found such love in my life with my wonderful wife, my family and my beloved brothers. Thank you Mom and Dad. I will always love and adore you both." Afterward, as I walk out into the desert night, I feel a deep sense of closure. My mind is at peace. But that doesn't last long. Later that night, my Mom and I are talking about all we have been through together, good and bad, and she expresses deep concern about the abuse I had suffered at the hands of her second husband. I assure her that I am OK but it's a white lie just to reassure her. At the mention of it, I feel a door open in my psyche and in that hidden room is a lot of unresolved traumatic issues. I go to bed troubled and feeling very weary at the thought of all the healing work that stands before me. I feel daunted at facing so much trauma and emotional scarring and I dread the thought of having to track down and relive those violent, abusive moments. Regardless, I am able to quiet my mind enough to fall asleep. I awake at the first hint of light in the sky. The house is quiet. I immediately become aware of Hank's presence. My conscious mind realizes that Hank and my higher self have been conversing while my conscious mind was sleeping. Once again, he has that beautiful smile on his face and he tells me to look behind me. I spin around and spot a child sized entity so black and dense that it looks like it is made of black ink. It can sense its utter panic at being spotted and it tries to dart away but I capture it in a sphere of Light and Love, the same method I use when encountering the occasional demon or psychic attachment. Using my spiritual sight, I try to peer into the blackness of this entity to determine its identity. At first, the blackness is impenetrable. The utter fear of this entity and its need to stay hidden from sight is very powerful. So I send a focused beam of Light and Love into it and search for the spark of divine Light in its breast. Being Virgo, I have an absolute faith that such purity exists in all entities, even in demons. I find it and direct Light and Love into it which strengthens that spark. As it grows, the darkness is pushed back until a young child version of me is revealed. Amazed, I kneel down and extend my loving arms to him. He looks at me and sensing safety, he runs into them. I hug him joyously and assure him he is now safe. This is the part of my psyche that was stranded by the trauma spoken of earlier that evening. Being reunited with this lost part of me brings me one step closer to the complete integration of my body, mind and soul and as before when this has occurred, I now feel more complete. Realizing what a gift this is, I look up from the child in my arms and see Hank beaming at us both. He then says he has a healing technique to teach me that will bring together many things I've learned over the past few years. He shows me how negative emotions are nothing more than energy held in our emotional and physical bodies which then become blockages to energy flow. Until now, it's taken a lot of work on my part to find and clear those blockages. Hank says that the new technique will make this healing process more efficient. He shows me that energy is neither good or bad. It's just energy. It's the intent behind it and how it is used where the good and evil part comes in. Once an energy blockage is detected, releasing that energy to the Universe frees it from the intent applied to it and makes it available for reuse. Hank says that being the avid recycler that I am, this technique ought to appeal to me. I agree. I love to recycle! He smiles and says to use this statement of intent to affect the energy release. "I release the energy represented by this ___________ to the Universe for reuse and I replace it with Light and Love." He asks me to list some energy blockages to use in the statement. It doesn't take long to draft up quite a laundry list of candidates:
Hank smiles approvingly at my list and says that I will have plenty to practice with. He reminds me of the technique of using my breath to release the energy blockage. I inhale slowly and deeply into my belly as I say the mantra and then use the exhalation to push the energy in question out of my body and into the Universe. It might take several breaths to clear it but once I feel the release, I then inhale Light and Love into my belly and exhale it throughout my body. He also reminds me how this will take many repetitions for my body to accept it as a normal practice and how I will have to be vigilant. Once a blockage is detected, clear it immediately since hanging on to that energy (fear, anger, anxiety, etc.) will just delay the release and its subsequent healing. I try the technique and again realize the gift it represents. I smile at Hank and he smiles back. No words are necessary. The love and respect between us is unconditional and absolute. He vanishes into the Light and I lay there in my bed, radiating the healing energy that is flowing through me. The daunting challenge of the night before is now gone. What seemed like endless toil and grief has now evaporated in the face of such loving, healing gifts. With all my heart, I thank you Henry Maurice Espensen. While we didn't share the bond of blood, we do share a profound bond of love and friendship. I will never forget you. – Scott Bruce Duncan */:-) New and Updated Pages on our Website
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depicted as half fish and half goat. He was the god of wisdom who
brought the arts of civilization: agriculture, astronomy, mathematics,
reading, writing, architecture and medicine to mankind from the depths
of the ocean. Capricorn represents discipline, responsibility and
practicality as seen in the mountain goat who scales the most difficult
peaks. Capricorn is an earth sign and therefore has yin or feminine
energy. 
"As
a new father of three sons, he was affectionate. He was enthusiastic. He
was creative. He was constructive. And he always had time for us. He was
never too busy. This, in turn, set the stage for the arrival of Eric who
was born when I was 12. I don’t think a baby was ever more adored or
loved. We had truly become the family I had hoped for."
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on this link to visit the Amazon home page.