Anne Whitaker's Blog, page 5

Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus – THE major astrological event of 2024 is on its way!

As we advance towards the conjunction in April 2024, Jupiter/Uranus is now settling into a new 14-year cycle, following on the ones I researched in 1997/8 and 2010/11, continuing with its ancient symbolic task of seeing no limits as it challenges old frontiers and reveals startling new vistas of experience and discovery. As a human community, we have begun a new voyage into the Unknown. Comfort and security are never key features of such voyages….

My colleague Victor Olliver, well-known astrologer, editor of the UK’s world-renowned The Astrological Journal, and respected author had this to say recently:

‘The Taurus Jupiter/Uranus conjunction is the major astrological event of 2024 – and Anne Whitaker’s e-book (and blog) Jupiter Meets Uranus is by far the most authoritative guide to its meaning and significance, based on her original research and driven by her customary rigour and straightforward approach. Though the alignment occurs in the latter half of April, it has a longish build up and a longish ‘wake’ whose effects are sure to be clear and measurable in the world. A must-read for a better understanding of astrology and our times.‘

Latest feedback (ctd):

Michelle L. 10/23 

“With ease and clarity Anne Whitaker takes us from the macro to the micro when exploring past Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, immediately we are hit with how they fit with other big cycles at play – rather like a ‘triggering’ piece in the jigsaw puzzle. She treats us to a brief and informative outline of the other cycles at play – from the Hindu Yugas to the 29.5 day Sun/Moon cycle – bedrock astrology that many aren’t fully acquainted with and looks at first principle archetypes and the elements involved within the cycles, grounding the bigger picture in, giving depth to the survey of conjunctions.  

As the next 2024 Jupiter/Uranus conjunction happens in Taurus I wonder if we’ll see further expansion along the same theme involved with the prominent character she mentions from 1858?! (Note from A.W: ie On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin published in 1858 with the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction at 29 Taurus).

As Ken Gillman (Note from A.W: for many years Editor of USA’s Considerations magazine) says in the Foreword to Anne’s book, we can only get our noses out of ephemerides & look around and see what happens! And I rather like her two possible theories for the Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions between 2050 and 2400, no doubt written earlier (Note from A.W: research done during 1997/8 conjunction, then further in 1999-2002, book completed in 2003)  but first published in 2009, one wonders if both seeds are already germinating; those words need marking.”

PS Absolutely loved it! The case studies are interesting – I’ve just sped read them so far – will return back and look in detail – such varied  accounts … was just checking nobody did fall off the edge of the earth or down a deep hole!! … Some had a LOT happening though!

Kristine B. 11/23

I really enjoyed the book, and found it quite useful in interpreting the upcoming conjunction. I appreciate the depth of your research, including the mythology and personal stories.

Thanks!

Rob G 01/24

Have been reading your books. HOLY Cow! You been reading my mail?

Not to get too deep into it (unless you want to) but both your books, “The Nodes” and “Jupiter Meets Uranus” touch on pretty much the major turning points in my life! From “discovering astrology in 1979 (Uranus over my south node) and getting back into theater right after then, to 1997 (JUpiter/Uranus right on my Moon) and the end of a major relationship and beginning of a lot of independent art work, going full tilt (at the time, now not so much) into modern pagan living, and all with the discretion of an atomic bomb!
Now, April, 2024 is approaching with Jupiter conjuncting Uranus right on my North Node. I’m a little freaked out but also excited to see what is coming around this time!

@mrsquics4588 01/24

I’ve read Anne’s book & it’s thoroughly brilliant!… it also has an almost ‘bonus’ chapter on a variety of wider astro cycles should anyone else love cycles!

If you’d like to buy the book, which is an e-book , the simplest way is to go into PayPal and send $10.00 directly to my PayPal account which is: contact.anne.w@gmail.com(Please remember to leave your email address along with your name, otherwise I can’t send you the book!) PayPal will then send me an email notifying me of the payment, whereupon I will send you the book within 24 hours. Thank you!

700 words © Anne Whitaker 2024

On World Astrology Day: Six things I love about astrology…

I wrote this to celebrate my love of astrology, 10 years ago. Still feel just the same…

(i)

“Six thousand years ago, when the human mind was still half asleep, Chaldean priests were standing on their watchtowers, scanning the stars.”

( from The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler )

Scanning the Stars

I love knowing that the rational, mythical, symbolic and empirical art of astrology has been around for at least six thousand years. Our increasing contemporary awareness of the interconnectedness of all things was well known in antiquity: the ancient maxim “As above, so below” still applies. Astrologers operate on the margins of our fragmenting, reductionist culture. But we represent an unbroken line to a time which in many ways was wiser than ours is now. Being a tiny thread in that weave gives me a deep sense of pride, connectedness and rootedness.

(ii)

I love being able to look out at the night sky, seeing the beauty of the lunar cycle and the visible planets in their ever changing, ever repeating patterns, knowing that being an astrologer offers one the privilege of perceiving not only astronomy but also symbolic meaning out there. I can still recall the exhilaration I felt on a freezing cold, clear night in January 1986 on a visit to the Outer Hebrides. My brother, a Merchant Navy captain, was able to point out Saturn to me – the first time I had ever seen that venerable planet with the naked eye. Saturn’s meaning was also present that night; we were on our way back from the wake for an old uncle who had just died.

(iii)

I love the fact that I started out as a dismisser of our ancient art, and ended up its devoted practitioner – having set out to confront my embarrassment at the inexplicable fascination I had developed for a subject which I considered to be beneath my intellectual consideration! This is the typical position of ignorance combined with arrogance from which many people dismiss astrology, not realising there is a subject of great depth and power beyond the Sun Signs of astrology’s public face. I embarked on a course of study with the Faculty of Astrological Studies in the early 1980s – to prove to myself through study rather than ignorant dismissal that there was nothing in astrology – and have kept up an unbroken interest since then for over 40 years.

(iv)

I love how literal astrology can be. Saturn met Neptune in November 1989 and the Berlin Wall came down. There was a Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Libra in July 1969 when a huge co-operative effort of unique scientific endeavour put the first human on the Moon. The day Pluto first went into Sagittarius in January 1995, there was a massive earthquake in Japan and the city of Kobe went up in flames. At that same time, John Paul, the best-travelled Pope ever,  preached to an open air audience of over a million people in Manila in the Philippines. To lower the tone somewhat, I was having lunch with a bank manager friend of mine on the day Saturn turned retrograde on my Scorpio IC on the 7th March 1985. For no apparent reason (being sober at the time!) I passed out, just as another bank manager and friend of my friend was passing the restaurant window. They both ended up carting me home between them.

(v)

I love the impossibility of ever getting on top of, or to the end of, one’s astrological studies. I have never applied myself to eg Chinese or Hindu astrology, not yet feeling I have enough of  a grasp of the Western tradition into which I was born….and you can do hundreds or thousands of horoscope readings, teach hundreds of classes with thousands of students, and someone will STILL come up with a  manifestation of eg Venus combined with Saturn or Mercury combined with Neptune, which you have never before come across or thought of.

(vi)

I love astrology for the help it has given me (and countless other people who are willing to look within and try to be honest about themselves) in understanding the quirks and complexities, the gifts and pains of my personality and life pattern. My studies began as the next step in a lifelong quest to prove that our existence has some meaning, that we are not just butterflies randomly pinned to the board of fate, that we are each here because we have something unique to contribute to the Big Picture. Astrology has provided me with that proof. For that, and to that unbroken line of students and practitioners of our great art stretching right back to those ancient Chaldeans on their watchtowers, I will be forever grateful.

Thank you.

******

Endnotes

This piece was written for World Astrology Day 2014, and most recently published as the Preface to my acclaimed collection of 60 essays, articles, blog posts and columns “Postcards to the Future: Mercurial Musings 1995-2021”

© 800 words Anne Whitaker  2024

A Moon’s Nodes Compendium

My fascination with the Moon’s Nodes goes back a long way: to birth with the North Node exactly conjunct a 29 Taurus MC (ninth house side). This fated me to the dedicated pursuit of vocational life, centred on teaching and big picture pursuits, most notably astrology which I began to teach on the approach to the second Nodal Return in my mid thirties and which has continued in one form or another ever since. 

So – for those of you who are coming fresh to this important dimension of astrological symbolism, what ARE the Moon’s Nodes? Work your way through what’s on offer here, and you will surely find out! 

And – for seasoned and experienced practitioners, I hope that this compendium of ‘takes’ on The Moon’s Nodes in Action in a wide variety of settings including 17 articles/essays from 2013-2022, will be stimulating, informative – as well as offering a range of different lives from which the symbolic power of the Nodal Axis’ 18.6 year journey round the zodiac band can be viewed with fresh and deepened appreciation.

The compilation you are about to read consists of three parts:

1.) *The Moon’s Nodes in Action, an original research study and the thesis for my diploma in psychological astrology from the CPA in London in 1998: the study in ebook format (2016 – one 18.6 -year Nodal cycle since its first appearance!)  is available HERE.

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2.) A selection of 17 articles and essays written for various contexts including Astrodienst, the UK’s Astrological Journal, The Mountain Astrologer’s blog, USA’s much missed Dell Horoscope magazine, appearing on my own Astrology: Questions and Answers blog, and on my Writing from the Twelfth House site.  These writings feature the Nodes’ journey from Scorpio to Taurus from 2013 to 2022: 

Frances’ Question: on recent eclipses

Honouring the Scorpio Solar Eclipse…

Some thoughts on the power of eclipses – and a personal tale…

The Moon’s Nodes, Pluto, Fate and the UK’s Brexit….

The lunar eclipse in Pisces – how is your lunar eclipse day, so far?

The Leo lunar eclipse: anyone else feeling restless?

Cheer up: solar eclipses aren’t all doom and gloom…

Moon’s Nodes, Midsummer, and Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”…

The Leo/Aquarius eclipse season 2017-2019: setting the bigger context…

New Moon Eclipse in Cancer…the old order changes…

The Moon’s Nodes – what will their Cancer/Capricorn transit bring?

Moon’s Nodes, Saturn/Pluto ….and a ‘just war’?

Pluto, the Nodes – and a Black Hole revealed…

A tale of Saturn, Capricorn, Nodes, and family history….

Capricorn New Moons, Eclipses and the power of collective memory…the Iolaire Disaster

Nodes enter Gemini/Sagittarius …communication goes nuts!

AND…from The Mountain Astrologer Blog…

https://mountainastrologer.com/the-taurus-scorpio-nodal-shift-its-accompanying-eclipses-and-the-nodal-return-cycle

Most of the above items appear on my Astrology: Questions and Answers blog which is an extensive archive of astrology articles on a very wide variety of topics, going back to 2013.  So –once you have read and reflected on whichever article you’ve chosen, you will be able to have a wander around my ‘take’ on Astrology’s highways and byways for as long as you have the time or inclination. Bon voyage!

******

3.) My most recent mini research study featuring the lives of  4 people (including me!)  as the Nodes transited Gemini/Sagittarius, published on Astrodienst in 2022:

Moon’s Nodes and Eclipses: Gemini/Sagittarius adventures 2020-22

******

500 words ©Anne Whitaker 2024

What is it about TWINS that fascinates us so much? My astro-experiment…

Helene’s question:

How does it work when you do a birth chart for twins? Or two babies born the same minute at the same hospital?  Can two people have the same horoscope!?

My Answer:

During many years of teaching astrology classes, I found that the above questions came up very frequently.

It is important at this point to emphasise to readers who are familiar only with Sun Signs that to get ‘beyond the Sun Signs’ requires an individual’s horoscope to be drawn up for the date, place AND time of birth. Human beings are complex and contradictory. It’s not possible to approach any satisfying symbolic exploration of that complexity through the Sun or Star Sign alone.

A number of years ago, I decided to address the typical questions students asked about twins (summed up by Helene’s questions here) via one of the tutorial classes I ran for my more advanced students, all of whom had a good grasp of the basics of astrology, and some of whom were already practitioners in their own right.

One student – let’s call her Anna – was the devoted aunt to a set of twins in their mid teens, a boy and a girl –  let’s call them Angus and Miriam. These two had been born less than fifteen minutes apart and had almost identical horoscopes.

I had formulated a theory about twins and astrology which I wanted to test out, so I obtained permission via Anna from Angus and Miriam’ s parents as well as the twins themselves, to calculate their horoscopes and discuss them anonymously in class.

My method was to put up on the board only one horoscope since there was so little difference between the twins’ horoscopes, and ask the students to take an hour to prepare along with me a basic outline of the key characteristics revealed by this one horoscope. We did the preparation as though we were preparing a birth chart for just one person.

The class knew nothing about either of the twins, and I asked Anna to observe us, but not to make any comments at all.

Once we had written up the outline, we spent the next hour discussing our findings with Anna, who knew her nephew and niece well.

I am writing this after a gap of about twenty years and no longer have the notes for detailed reference, so can only give a summary of the essence of what emerged from our discussion.

Anna found our summary from the one horoscope of the basic characteristics of both her nephew and niece to be very accurate. What was very clear was that certain traits were held in common, but that the rest were, as it were, divided up between the twins. To put it very simply, looking at a range of traits: 1,2,3 and 4 were recognisable in both; Miriam manifested traits 5,6 and 10 whilst Angus lived out traits 7, 8 and 9.

This very interesting and enlightening experiment does not of course constitute any kind of proof: but it bore out my impressions from reading about the similarities and differences in the lives of twins about whom I had read, as well as my own observations of twins I had come across from my own experience, as well as the few horoscope readings I had done for individuals who were twins.

What was this impression? Coming back to the analogy of the horoscope revealing the characters poised on life’s stage, waiting for the moment of birth to kick start the action of the play, it seemed that twins unconsciously chose which characters on their joint stage they were going to live out jointly – and the ones which they were going to live out separately.

The experiment which I did all those years ago with my students, Anna and her nephew and niece certainly bore out my theory….

After writing this piece I googled ‘astrology and twins’ to see what came up, and was pleased to find on my favourite astrology site, Astrodienst, that other astrologers including Dr Liz Greene had come to much the same conclusion.

As far as two people born at the same time in the same place is concerned, yes, they would in effect have the same horoscopes.  You would certainly see considerable similarities if you studied both their lives over time. But each character on the stage at a given moment in time has a range of possible modes of expression. Thus the influence of different family circumstances and different opportunities, etc, would call forth a range of possible responses from the same basic character.

{22.2.24: I had an interesting ‘take’ on the above observation from a participant in a Q n A session I did a couple of weeks ago. On that occasion, as always, the question about twins’ similarities/differences came up. She suggested a somewhat metaphysical explanation, bringing in reincarnation theory: the twins are different souls, therefore with different agendae in this particular lifetime. Thus, even with identical horoscopes, they would each live out those shared energies in differing ways, depending on the developmental stage each was at in relation to their respective souls. I am open-minded about reincarnation…found this suggestion intriguing.}

To read much more on this topic, do go over to the late master astrologer Donna Cunningham’s  blog Sky Writer, where she has an excellent piece on the astrology of  twins.

Then come back and let me know what YOU think!

900 words ©Anne Whitaker 2013/2016/2024

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page of Writing from the Twelfth House

Ask an astrologer a question…

….and who knows what the answer will be!

Astrologers are always being asked questions. By clients. By students. By interviewers for various media outlets. By open-minded members of the public. By closed-minded-members of the public. By one’s friends and family. The list is endless, the questions multifarious, the answers? Well, that depends.

If you want to ask ME any questions, do drop by The Yoga Extension, First Floor, 5 Newton Terrace Ln, Glasgow G3 7PB, from 13.00 to 14.15 pm on Saturday 10th February 2024 where I am hosting a Talking About Astrology session for the redoubtable Frances McKee, well-respected yoga teacher, musician and singer with The Vaselines – also long-term student of astrology whom I have had the pleasure of having as one of my students for many years.

Here’s Frances looking very happy on a visit to The Astrology Shop in Covent Garden, London: doing a little light PR for my Postcards to the Future book! This Q and A session is for anyone with an open-minded interest in – but very little knowledge of – astrology beyond the highly popular but very limited ‘star sign’ version.

  So – come along, ask any questions you may have eg “How does astrology make sense of twin differences?” or “What does the birth chart say about Fate v Free Will?” or “How far can (or should) astrology predict the future?” I’ve probably answered most of the questions people usually ask – but why don’t you turn up and ask me one I’ve never heard before?!

Notes

i) This is a drop-in session, no need to book

ii) For further details. click HERE

iii) If you don’t live locally, can’t attend, but would like to be added to a mailing list for future sessions I may be doing live on zoom, do email me at contact.anne.w@gmail.com with your contact details including email address.

300 words © Anne Whitaker 2024

Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus: heading your way!

Some lively recent feedback from Rob G 01/24:

‘…Have been reading your books. HOLY Cow! You been reading my mail?

Not to get too deep into it (unless you want to) but both your books, “The Moon’s Nodes” and “Jupiter Meets Uranus” touch on pretty much the major turning points in my life! From discovering astrology in 1979 (Uranus over my south node) and getting back into theater right after then, to 1997 (Jupiter/Uranus right on my Moon) and the end of a major relationship and beginning of a lot of independent art work, going full tilt at the time… into modern pagan living…Now, April, 2024 is approaching with Jupiter conjuncting Uranus right on my North Node. I’m a little freaked out but also excited to see what is coming around this time!…’

As we advance towards this unique conjunction in April 2024, this time in Taurus, Jupiter/Uranus is about to settle into a new 14-year cycle, following on the ones I researched in 1997/8 and 2010/11, continuing with its ancient symbolic task of seeing no limits as it challenges old frontiers and reveals startling new vistas of experience and discovery. As a human community, we have begun a new voyage into the Unknown.Here is my ‘take’ on the historical context to Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, as well as some thoughts regarding what it may be showing us symbolically regarding where we are headed…

Today, on Astrodienst:

https://www.astro.com/astrology/aa_article240201_e.htm

©Anne Whitaker 1997, 2010/11, 2024

Talking about…the mysteriously accurate world of Secondary Progressions

I’m so happy to be sharing this recent talk with my colleague Ana Isabel on one of my favourite astro-topics, Secondary Progressions (S.Ps). But first, some brief introductory comments – any readers wishing to broaden and deepen their knowledge as a result of  our encounter could usefully drop in to Cafe Astrology which offers a fine introduction to one of the most fascinating topics – and useful tools – in astrology (in my opinion!)

I am very well aware that there are several ways of progressing a horoscope which are no doubt valid. However, traditional Secondary Progressions or SPs as I call them for short, are the only type which have consistently spoken to me with great accuracy. These are calculated by moving the planetary positions in the ephemeris for the day of birth forward one day for every year of a person’s life, offering a means of determining the timing, and understanding the meaning, of significant developmental points in that individual’s unique unfolding journey.

‘I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.’  John O’Donohue

Consider this surprise. Astrology textbooks tell you that the planets from Jupiter outwards move so slowly by progression that their shifts are of no consequence. On the very day in June 2016 that my third house Jupiter moved by secondary progression from life-long occupancy of Scorpio into Sagittarius, I was offered a large library of astrology books from a university lecturer whose wife, a keen student of astrology, had recently died…

This is just one of the stories I share with Ana in our wide-ranging, in-depth discussion. Here’s what some listeners had to say:

24/1/24 from M.L: 

“…Absolutely fantastic – I didn’t realise just how finely tuned progressions could be  – and thank you for sharing so generously your personal examples…You and Ana do have a great conversation…it’s great seeing such in tune minds connect!…”

23/1/24 from @mrsq:

“That hour did go fast! Thank you both for touching on many nuances of secondary progressions – I always wondered about the outer planets with these, thank you for the book recommendations (Anne knows of and writes good books!! I can vouch for this! Read her Jupiter-Uranus one!) and thank you for the examples given to illustrate regarding  house, sign and planets re progressions …“

23/1/24 from @D.G:

“It’s a gift to be listening to the two of you, thank you!“

So – settle down and enjoy our conversation. Any feedback drawn from your experiences of the value and accuracy of Secondary Progressions would be welcome. Putting ‘flesh on the bones’ of Astrology is how we all learn!

‘How – and Why – does Astrology Work?’ An excellent question to wake us up in dreary January!!

This is indeed a challenging question, which astrologers and curious open-minded people have been asking for centuries, millennia probably, ever since those Chaldean priests from their chilly watchtowers scanned the night skies for helpful advance warning signs that their kings and kingdoms were under threat. I do not propose in this short extract to add to the vast amount of erudite speculation which has arisen from this question.

 Jonicus the First Astronomer/Astrologer circa 1400-1410 (Getty Museum)

However, very briefly, my conclusion is this: modern quantum science has demonstrated that we live, move, and have our being as part of a vast energy field which ripples and changes in a sinuous, shapeshifting dance between order and chaos — order arising out of apparent disorder and in  invisible patterns, which would appear to contain 4% matter, 23% dark matter, and 73% dark energy in a vast cosmic web. 

I think that astrology works by tracking and mapping those energy patterns through planetary cycles against the backdrop of either the constellations via sidereal astrology, or our more familiar Western  tropical astrology, which is pegged to the ecliptic. By a blend of astronomical calculation, mythic imagination, intuition, and observation of correlations between life on Earth and planetary movements over millennia, humans arrived at a way of deriving meaning from the energies generating the solar system, our tiny corner of that vast cosmic web.

 It is no surprise that reductionist thinking cannot cope with the possibility that something of great value to the human project could have arisen from this eclectic weave. There are several ways in which one can creatively reflect upon that ratio of 4%–23%–73%. I like to think of it in terms of the worlds of consciousness, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious, respectively. Jung’s term “psychoid” is very useful in enabling me to make sense of energies which can and do manifest simultaneously — all the way from being obvious and tangible, to being invisible to the wider world though highly influential in a person’s life. 

For example, consider the client I saw some years ago, with a dominant Saturn square Neptune aspect in his horoscope. James’ (i) profession was highly tangible: he made musical instruments. But a significant factor in the unfolding pattern of his life, also linked to that Saturn–Neptune square, was his having had to survive growing up with a severely alcoholic father. Being very aware of an inherited tendency to indulge in addictive escapist behaviours, he was trying to address this when he came for a consultation — as his secondary progressed Sun triggered his natal Saturn square Neptune.

 I think that an important part of the creative value of being a practising astrologer lies in helping clients like James to understand, accept, and work constructively with the shapeshifting potential inherent in the particular energies with which they came into the world. From the above perspective very briefly outlined, it isn’t too difficult to tie the planetary patterns in the sky — here and now — into the static picture of the natal horoscope. You are working, at least in part, with what you can actually see. 

I find that my (metaphorical, at least!) understanding of that 4%–23%–73% ratio is very helpful in feeling comfortable with such mysterious territory. That which cannot be seen, perceived, or understood via our five senses within the 4% world of matter still has energetic validity in the landscape of the unseen 96% — that which modern science tells us is there, although we can only perceive it by inference and don’t yet know what it is – maybe we never will…

[A slightly edited extract from “Secondary Progressions: stepping into the Mystery by Anne Whitaker ( AA Journal 2017, The Mountain Astrologer 2019)]  Secondary Progressions: April – May 2019

Endnote

(i) not his real name

600 words © Anne Whitaker 2024

Some end of the year thoughts: on small bright joys in a bleak dark world…

12.50 pm

28.12.23

Glasgow Botanic Gardens/ Kelvin Walkway:

There I was, trudging beside a very full river Kelvin, the day wet, cold, dreary and windy … steeped in that post-Festive, pre- ‘let’s get stuck into another year’ glumness besetting many of us in this liminal time of ending/beginning.

I couldn’t even decide whether the tiny hint of emerging snowdrops was real – or a figment of my hopeful imagination.

And then I saw them:

Photo: Anne Whitaker

In total, vivid contrast to the drabness and grimness around me, tucked into wet, dank gaps in the wall which runs all the way along the path opposite the river, were those bright wee fellows: the Park Penguins, all decked out for the festive season, bringing cheer to the dreary city.

I hope this study in contrasts cheers you up too! It’s certainly had that effect on me. I have no idea who has been creating and placing those delightful little figures, their themes changing with the seasons, for some time now.

Whoever you are, thank you so much!

Photo: Anne Whitaker

We are living through very dark and painful times as a world community at present, when it’s hard to feel positive and optimistic about being human, as we are confronted yet again with the grim reality that millennia of slaughter do not seem to have taught us much about how to co-exist peacefully on this fragile planet.

So – we really need to try to be as positive and constructive as we can be in our own individual lives, in the process bringing some light into the lives of our fellow citizens both known and unknown – as this Penguin artist has done.

We also need to keep savouring moments of lightness, humour and sudden unexpected small pleasures: it has made me happy to see, enjoy and share those Park Penguins with their jaunty message of festive cheer.

Carpe Diem!

300 words copyright Anne Whitaker2023

“Through all the frosty Ages”: a Winter Solstice Invocation…

O Great Spirit

as this Northern winter season slowly turns to meet the gradually emerging life of Spring and its lengthening, warming days, help us to live more peacefully with one another on this planet Earth, tiny amidst the vastness of the Cosmos. Despite our insatiable hunger for knowledge, our technological brilliance, who we are, where we are, and why we are here at all remains shrouded in deepest mystery.

Northern Lights at Stenness Stones, Orkney

Help us to be more humble in realising how much growing we must do as a human collective in order to emerge a little more from the primeval savagery of our tumultuous instincts which still appear to dominate the way we live, threatening now the very fabric of Earth herself.

Help us to be aware of the interconnectedness of all things in the Heavens above, and in the Earth below. Help us to realise that what we do to the Earth, ultimately we do to ourselves.

In the meantime, as Susan Cooper’s wonderful solstice poem tells us, let’s carol, fest, give thanks, dearly love our friends – and hope for peace:

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!

Blessings, everybody!

And many, many thanks to all my blog Followers, Commenters and visitors old and new for your support of my writing, for your wit, and for your wisdom.  

Standing Stones in Winter

355 words copyright Anne Whitaker/ Susan Cooper 2023