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August 22^nd (The Sun Enters Virgo)

I hate to be the one to bring this up but the days are getting shorter and summer is flying! For all you pastoral folk, this is the time to start bringing in the harvest. For the rest of us, it is time to start getting organized for winter. Virgo is about organizing & planning so plan ways to keep up those good exercise habits you developed during Leo. (Scott asks, "What good exercise habits??") Virgo is "Back-to-school" time.

August 23^rd is Scott's Birthday

Yes sir, he really is 42!! He was born a mere 12 minutes after the Sun entered the constellation of Virgo in 1958. I'm taking a poll: E-mail me what kind of birthday cake we should have at the party on Friday, September 1.

August 29^th 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. Relax yourself and ask what Virgo would like to tell you. Trust me...she'll gladly point out where you are disorganized in your life. Ask her which of your habits are hindering your perfect health.

September 1^st is the IEM Get-Together

Remember to e-mail Inga with birthday cake ideas!

September 4^th is Labor Day

"Labor Day differs in every essential from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

To read more about the History of Labor Day: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/news/082897/labor/html/labor1d.htm

September 13^th 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. Perform a ritual to protect and consecrate your home. Virgo is one of the best times to do this. Dedicate your home-space to health and growth with green and dark blue candles, a dark blue stone; whatever works for you.

He met with the people in the unit who were anything but Army people. They offered him a position on the team, on-the-job training and some answers to his many questions so he transferred into the special unit. What he didn't bargain on were the implications of what is called "remote viewing" and what the intelligence services were using it for; a weapon. Even worse, he met his "spirit guide" during his astral travels who kept telling him that it was his destiny to go public and share this tool with mankind. All this set him up on a collision course with his family, the Army, the CIA and his mental health.

I won't tell you anymore than this except to say that the accounts of his psychic training and work plus his battles with the dark forces of our government make for extremely fascinating reading! - Scott Bruce Duncan

Louise Ireland-Frey discovered that attached entities occur quite commonly in patients experiencing mental, emotional or physical distress. She also learned that long-standing physical symptoms would commonly disappear after her treatments. She discusses many different types of spirits and ways that she has found to work with them. I was pleased with the way she changed from an authoritative technique to something more helpful to the spirits themselves along her journey. The fascinating case studies and anecdotal information both contribute to making this an interesting read, regardless of where you fall on the open-mindedness continuum.

Here is an excerpt from my Book of Shadows about an encounter I had with an attaching entity. This is the first time I've presented this and I'm kind of embarrassed I didn't do a better job with the little guy, but here goes...

August 18, 1997

Scott and I were driving home from Paradise up on Mt. Rainier. We had spent the night to take a little vacation from dealing with his prolonged illness. He was weak to start with but I noticed he seemed really tired. We were listening to some old Jethro Tull; "The Broadsword and the Beast". "Beastie" was playing and I was pondering how a beastie, or attachment, could burrow into someone's aura so deeply that the person would not be aware of it. I was feeling pretty dopey and it occurred to me that it would be a good time to scan for any energy seeking entities. I immediately became aware of a creature resembling a small gargoyle clinging to Scott's shoulder while he was driving.

I mentally asked it if it wanted me to help it home and it leaped to my shoulder, clinging like a koala. I thought the best idea at this point would be to fly so I visualized pushing myself up and out of my body. The gargoyle stayed attached to me and we were flying. I had to nudge it with my shoulder to make it shift itself up to my back. It was so heavy in spite of its small size that it made it hard to glide.

I wasn't getting any imagery from the beastie so I thought I ought to visualize the tunnel the same way as the last time I "ferried" a soul to the Light. And then right away we were flying into the opening. It was getting harder and harder to fly as the entity took more of my energy. I had to consciously visualize the tunnel walls and I felt like I was creating them as we flew. They had none of the depth or delicate shell-like coloring that they did the first time. There were no other people milling around either. I felt like I was forcing the imagery from memory in order to end up at the same place as before. By the time we approached the "airport lobby" part of the place, I was so low on energy that I was flying about knee level to the gray oval-shaped entity that came to greet us.

I was concerned for a moment as I thought about how different this trip into the tunnel had been from the previous experience. You know, like, "What if they don't take these things here?" But then I could feel the release of that incredible weight as the entity picked it up and carried it inside. I didn't feel the same warmth and approval as the last time. The entity seemed more tolerant than anything else, so I'm not at all sure what you're supposed to do with a gargoyle!

The next day, Scott was a new person. He came home that night from work amazed at the new level of energy he had and wondering what had happened. His eyes got really big when I told him what had transpired in the car and we promptly began exercising his ability to keep his defenses up. -- Inga Duncan Thornell

How does Inga interpret the Tarot Court Cards? (She doesn't do 'em like my book says to.)

Whew! This is a good question. It really forced me to organize my thoughts. Thanks! (You know who you are!)

The Court Cards consist of The King, Queen, Page and Knight. They are generally interpreted as people you deal with. I interpret them as the zodiacal signs. Astrology is a language of energy, a kind of shorthand of typologies. The 12 signs comprise all possible combinations of modes and elements. Modes are Cardinal, Fixed & Mutable. Elements are Fire, Earth, Air & Water.

Note how in the two suits and elements that are traditionally Yang or masculine, the King is the cardinal sign. In the two suits and elements that are traditionally Yin or feminine, the Queen is the Cardinal sign.

So, using the context of your spread, you can easily see what the Page of Pentacles would mean as an action card. He tells you to get organized, to use your time to prepare for what is coming. Page of Cups in the same position would tell you to stop, listen to your intuition and have faith that the situation will be resolved.

In the External position, it would refer to people you are dealing with in the area of life described by the issue card. King of Cups here would be telling you that there are politics or hidden agendas from others surrounding your issue. Queen of Swords is usually a heads up that there is censure or gossip from others around your issue. In my own mental keyword system, I call it the "Mother-in-law" card! -- Inga

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, can participate by letting us know what topics you would like us to cover. We would love to see reader ideas reflected throughout the newsletter. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in whether it be Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc. as long as it reflects Love. Send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, tell us your experiences with stones or ritual and ask us questions. We love answering questions!

"I have learned silence from the talkative,
tolerance from the intolerant
and kindness from the unkind.
I should not be grateful to those teachers."
 
-- Kahlil Gibran, from the April 24 meditation in "The Promise of a New Day" by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

Butt Prints In The Sand sent by Mary Anne Lyman

One night I had a wondrous dream.

One set of foot prints there was seen,

The footprints of my precious <insert deity of your choice>,

But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,

And I asked her, "What have we here?"

Those prints are large and round and neat,

"But Goddess, they are too big for feet."

"My child," she said in somber tones.

"For miles I carried you alone.

I challenged you to walk in faith,

But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,

The walk of faith you would not know,

So I got tired, I got fed up,

And there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,

When one must fight and one must climb,

When one must rise and take a stand,

Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

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. We start eating between 6 and 7 PM so please join us but feel free to drop in later, too!
• 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!

I just celebrated my 42nd birthday and as usual, I reviewed my solar return chart with Inga. As the natal birth chart indicates a script for your entire life, the solar return indicates a script for one year of your life. That script indicates what challenges and issues you'll be facing and what energies you can call on to assist you in the year ahead.

We always review the previous year's solar return and check my progress. Invariably, it's like reading a checklist of my accomplishments and when we look back at several years, it's amazing to see the progression of growth through the various areas of my life. I'll walk you through some of the highlights of my solar return for August 23, 1999 and then compare it to this year's so you can see what I mean.

On last year's birthday, the Sun was in the 10th house of my chart. According to Inga's Natural Houses guide, the 10th house is labeled "Career". Along with my profession, it reflects my status in the community and my attitude toward responsibility and ambition. The placement of the Sun in the chart indicates where I'll spend the most energy and what part of my life will be most emphasized. Looking back at 1999, that is right on the money. I was promoted at work and was asked to participate in both the reinvention of not only the department I work in but also the entire company.

For this coming year, the Sun is in the 8th house of my chart. The 8th house is labeled "Power" in Inga's Natural Houses guide and reflects transformation, personal power and growth through facing my unconscious attitudes. Hmmm, that's sounds mighty mysterious to me! Mercury is right next to the Sun in the 8th house so I'll have a greater awareness of the unconscious while all this spiritual growth is occurring from that Sun energy. That sounds helpful! Last year, Mercury was in my 10th house with the Sun so it brought a lot of creativity and networking energy to bear on the career issues.

Venus was also in the 10th house last year so relationships would play a key role in my career development and indeed, they did. Now Venus is in the 8th house with Mercury and the Sun so relationships will most likely be more complicated and intense. This energy will allow me to explore the unconscious side of my relationships and I'll have to heal the fears and insecurities that I find there in order to achieve greater intimacy.

Jupiter in last year's chart was in the 7th house, the house of "Partnerships". Since Jupiter's energy is expansive, I received a lot of assistance from others in many ways. In addition, my relationship with Inga grew stronger and deeper. This year, Jupiter is in the 5th house, the house of "Creativity". That sounds like it could be fun as this should translate to something like expanded self-expression. More motorcycling perhaps?? It will be fun to look back on this year and see how this energy manifested itself in my life.

I've been reviewing my solar returns for the past 7 years or so and I've found that life goes smoother. It may be due to my mindset changing from one of minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure to one of tackling my growth issues pro-actively, inventorying my strengths and weaknesses and lining up my planetary and cosmic allies. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel each year as I review that growth report card. And with as challenging as my issues have been this past decade, I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't flunk and I don't have to deal remedially with those lessons.

I've just scratched the surface of my solar return chart for you. There are many more planets, signs and houses to tell you about but enough typing! Bring yours to our monthly party and I'll bring mine and we'll compare and explore them over a good bottle of wine! -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

P.S. If you've never had a solar return chart interpretation or you've skipped one or two, you may consider calling or e-mail Inga.

If you'd like to study your Solar Return chart further:

• Natural Houses
• An outstanding, easy-to-use, interpretive book is: Planets in Solar Returns - A Yearly Guide to Transformation and Growth by Mary Shea
• Click here to learn more about purchasing this item from Amazon.com