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| Gemini 2002 Edition | |
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| About Gemini |
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Gemini is curious, communicative and popular with others as long as it does not allow its skepticism and sarcasm to isolate it. Its mental agility and energy allow it to easily grasp any subject requiring analytical skills though it may avoid the labor of memorization and practice. If the value of discipline and attention to detail are not learned early in life, Gemini may be seen as unreliable and evasive as it flits from one interest to another always searching for variety and becoming a dilettante, dabbling in so many interests that it is unable to develop any one of them. It is fond of travel and changes of atmosphere. Gemini needs to learn that not only cooperation but also actual involvement with others is necessary to fulfillment in this life. How many Geminis does
it take to change a lightbulb? |
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| Inga's Celebration Calendar |
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May 21st The Sun Enters Gemini: Summer is almost here. Spring is in
the air and it seems like I have projects coming up everywhere. I
surmise from the lack of entries for the “Letters from Readers” section
I have received that we are all feeling that same Gemini energy. This is
always the scattered part of the year.
Mercury is retrograde from May 15th 2002 to June 8th 2002:
Retrograde motion is when a planet appears to travel backward for a
time. It isn’t actually traveling backward but appears to do so from our
perspective here on Earth. Mercury retrogrades several times a year and
astrologically, these times indicate trouble with communication or
travel. It is considered a good time to double check your plans and
check in with everyone to see if they actually GOT what you just said
and vice versa. Those of you celebrating your birthday during this time
will likely have Mercury Retrograde in your Solar return chart. This can
mean that, for this year, you require some more time on your own than
usual. Expressing yourself without making sure you are understood may
cause relationship stress. Other’s input may be less helpful to you or
you may be better off taking your own advice. Alternatively, you may be
so overwhelmed by your own thoughts that there is little room for
other’s input. Exactly how it will affect you is determined by where and
how Mercury operates in your individual birth chart.
May 26th is a Full Moon in Sagittarius and 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.
May 27th is Memorial Day: Encarta says:
Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, on the order of General
John Alexander Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of the
American Civil War dead. It was observed on May 30 until 1971, when most
states changed to a newly established federal schedule of holiday
observance. Confederate Memorial Day, formerly a legal holiday in many
southern states, is still observed on the fourth Monday in April in
Alabama, the last Monday in April in Mississippi, and April 26 in
Florida and Georgia. June 6th is the Anniversary of D-Day
June 7th is the Monthly IEM Get-Together: (see below for more
information)
June 10th is a New Moon in Gemini and a Solar Eclipse:
The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually
increases to a crescent. To use the New Moon in Gemini to best advantage
take the time to write your goals or to talk out an issue with your
siblings.
June 12th is Father’s Day
June 21st The Sun Enters Cancer: This is Litha, The
Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, The first day of Summer. |
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| Stone of the Sign - Clear Quartz |
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Clear Quartz will help you to clarify your goals and see through your
issues so that you do not get lost in minutiae. Gazing into a crystal
ball, or scrying, is a traditional way of getting answers from your
unconscious mind. Most people think a perfect, clear globe is what is
used for this but that is only in the movies. The inclusions, bubbles
etc are where your brain makes the images form. Try it with a crystal
point or ball and see what you see. I’ll have some clear quartz and
calcite points at the get-together so we can play with them. Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic Jewelry. |
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| Book Review |
 The
Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
by Julia Cameron
Thank you Amy for reminding me about this book. 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:
Click here to learn more about purchasing this book from Amazon.com. |
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What do the days of the week mean?
The answer, as it is so often, is: different things to different people
and cultures. Most Middle-Eastern countries simply number the days while
many European countries use a latin-based planetary system. The
associated planets sometimes seem more obvious in French so I have added
the French names too. English uses a Latin planetary system with
Teutonic names for some of the planets, Interestingly, Saturday, Sunday
& Monday. German uses some planets but is mostly practical like:
Wednesday is mittwock or midweek.
(Dimanche is a relatively new name signifying a religious aspect to the
day. The old name was Dies Solis, the Day of the Sun)
Does anyone besides me remember the Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme?
The old wisdom was taught orally so rhymes were a practical way to
memorize information. I speculate that the rhymes are innocuous enough
that even when other knowledge was banned some of these lived on as a
part of our heritage saved by the fact that no one remembered the
meaning. How many old rituals, formulas, and teaching devices are hidden
in Fairy tales? Here is a link to a great educational website on the Fact Monster website regarding our Days of the Week. |
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| Letters from our Readers |
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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!
Scott submitted the website for one of his favorite restaurants for your
perusal: Peg was the first one to send this one:
EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY
Day number 181
Day number 182
DAY 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their
feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top
of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile
oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite
chair...must try this on their bed.
DAY 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good
reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included
a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent
such a liquid? My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck
between my teeth. |
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Introducing a new column.... Urban Treasure Hunting - Chickweed by Tambrey Griffith
Never again look at that chickweed by the sidewalk or in your yard
dismissively! This pretty (yes it is- just look at it!) little plant is
wonderfully nutritious, gently medicinal, and even good tasting. It
fixes nitrogen in the ground and regulates moisture, making it a
wonderful gardening companion.
So if chickweed is so wonderful, why don’t we know about it? I believe there are two reasons. First, it is not commercially profitable. While chickweed grows all year and adapts to all sorts of soils, it will not grow industrially. It was at one time common fresh market vegetable (and still is in some parts of the world) but it is not suitable for supermarkets. Second, our current culture expects quick and sterile cures, preferably in pill form. Chickweed works gently. It is not a tsunami wave sweeping away illness but a gentle rain bringing nourishment while washing away impurities. It will not bring any change over a day or even a week, but if added to your diet on a regular basis will bring change to your whole being. So don’t kill that chickweed in your yard- cherish it! Encourage a patch and eat a handful of two every day. |
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| The Monthly IEM Get Together |
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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.
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 The
Duncan Domain
I discovered a surefire way to dramatically elevate my anxiety level. All I have to do is try to control or guarantee the outcome of a situation. Works like magic every time! If I stick to what I can control, then I’m fine. So what can I reliably control? My actions: what I say and how I move my body and the energy, or emotions, that I hold within my body. Beyond that, I’m pushing others to follow my will and there are a number of problems with that: q When I do push others, it’s always based on my internal issues. I’d like to think these issues are external but they never are. So I’m just projecting my issues onto others in an attempt to avoid looking within myself for the true issue. q By pushing or controlling others, I’m not bothering to seek alignment on shared values with others. q Pushing or controlling others is like herding cats – highly ineffective and never successful. People will only change their actions when they are ready. q Pushing or controlling people to achieve my desired outcome, especially before they are ready, is a form of violence that can really harm them. (Think of teaching someone to swim by just shoving them into the deep end vs. building alignment on wanting to share the wonderful experience of swimming and facilitating their introduction to swimming by demonstrating your skills in the shallow end until you are both comfortably swimming in deep water. Scare them good enough and they'll never go near the water again without fear.) I see this whole issue as very circular. Controlling others causes me to feel anxiety but I started trying to control them because I was fearful in the first place. Why do I become fearful? Because I imagine or perceive that people are going to be invalidated or harmed in some way. This also goes for animals, Mother Earth and me. Here’s an example: A coworker of mine, feeling
fearful about a certain situation, broke ranks and e-mailed my superior
to express her concerns. At first, I felt angry and invalidated. I
thought I had acknowledged her concerns and that we had jointly decided
on a course of action to address those concerns. But here she was taking
unilateral action and acting as if I did not comprehend her concerns and
that I had not fully conveyed the situation to my superiors, hence her
need to bypass me. So I had a choice: q
Did I want to express my anger and convey to her that I
thought I was in control of both her and the situation? Or.... q
Did I want to acknowledge her commitment to our success
underlying her concern, ask questions for clarity to see where we had
become separated, rebuild alignment so we could get back into action and
in the end, foster our mutual growth? Yes, I could remind her of the chain of command and
who’s in charge and I’d feel a certain surge of energy from being
“right”. But being committed to our long term working relationship and
to our mutual growth, I took the more powerful course of action. By
checking my values and commitments, I found the strength to bundle up my
anger into a ball of white light and hand it off to an “angel” for
proper disposal. This cleared my emotional blockage and enabled me to
take enlightened action with my coworker. Will what I did guarantee that she will not do this
again in the future? Nope. If I had read her the riot act,
she may never do it again but only out of fear of my anger. I guess
that’s the price of growth as there is risk associated with the
investment. I can only guarantee my actions, not hers. I have to have
faith that demonstrating my personal power lovingly will “pay off”. My
commitment to personal and planetary transformation has to be deeper
than my need to feel “right” or “in control”. I can now see that when I come home feeling
apprehensive or fearful about a situation, it’s due to the fact that
I’ve lost sight of the transformative possibilities. I can only imagine
a fearful outcome. I’ve learned enough over the years to know that I can
change that. So I come home and break out of the fearful rut by: q Going to the gym or doing yoga and exercising that fearful tension out of my body. q Grounding myself and meditating to find a state of mind that is free of fear. q Opening my mind, body and spirit to allow transformative possibilities to enter the situation through me. This may occur while meditating or by looking at tarot cards and reviewing my transit report with Inga and gaining comprehension as to what energies are at work. q Proactively align myself with those energies instead of reacting to those energies. q Having faith that I do not need to specifically know what those possibilities are, just that they’ll be transformative and therefore, loving, healing and powerful for everyone involved. q
Gathering up this transformative energy and storing it in
my body, leaving no room for fear. If I truly heal my fear, the situation always
turns out better than I had imagined for all involved. And I can
only find the strength to face and heal my fears by truthfully answering
these questions: q What I am truly committed to? (Transformation or control?) q What are my core values based on? (Light and Love or fear and darkness?) q What actions can I take based on my commitments and values? (What will I say? How will I move my body? What energy will I hold in my body, mind and spirit?) q Who are my allies in this situation? (People, guides, teachers, entities, planets, archetypes, etc.) These fears represent a blockage in my personal transformation and a lack of body/mind/spirit alignment. By healing that blockage, I become more integrated and gain greater access to the real, powerful, enlightened me. My stubbornness is transformed into tenacity, my intelligence into wisdom and control becomes dominion, grounded in Light and Love. If something external is scaring me, all I need do is look within for the blockage and heal it to become personally transformed. And somehow, the world around me is subtly transformed and never quite the same. It’s never easy but it’s what I’m committed to and it’s the only true source of Joy for me. It’s funny how my fears have become road signs that lead me down the road of transformation to true happiness. – Scott Bruce Duncan */:-) |
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| New and Updated Pages on our Website |
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Distribution via e-mail is free of charge. We feel the Internet is a great way to share knowledge and information and very compatible with the environment. Distribution via US mail is also free but if you'd like to help offset the paper, postage and envelope costs, please send $12. That pays for 12 issues for one year. Please send a check and your name and address to the address listed below. Thanks! We certainly hope you enjoyed our newsletter. If you are not interested in this information and would like to be removed from this mailing list, please click the e-mail link below and place the word "REMOVE" in the subject line of your message. This message is being sent to you in compliance with the Federal legislation for commercial e-mail (H.R.4176 - Section 101, Paragraph (e)(1)(a)) and Bill s.1618 Title III passed by the 105th US Congress. |
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Inga Duncan Thornell |
A
beautiful and useful stone, quartz crystals are the most widely
distributed form of quartz. The names quartz and crystal both derive
from the Greek krustallos meaning ice. It is used industrially for
glassware and optical lenses. The fact that quartz or rock crystal is so
incredibly common on this planet indicates to me that communication and
adaptability to ever-changing situations are the critical issues we are
all working on here on Earth. 
When
you think of chickweed visualize water. This plant, allied with the
moon, dissolves and washes, gently flushing toxins from all levels of
our being. Chickweed increases the permeability of physical, mental, and
spiritual boundaries. It weakens bacterial walls; dissolves excess fat
cells, growths, and cysts; and aids in the nutrient in/waste out cycle.
It also increases the permeability of the conscious/unconscious,
past/present/future, and hidden/acknowledged boundaries. What is really
special, though, is that chickweed does this while nourishing and
building. In the past chickweed was used to rebuild the body and mind
after illness or trauma- not in small amounts, as in tea or tincture,
but as food. It grows all year, so it was also a staple to prevent
scurvy, anemia, and rickets.
Click
on this link to visit the Amazon home page.