A New Era?

Hello beloved reader,

Even if you’re not into astrology, you may have noticed that many newspapers, magazines and online journals reported on Tuesday November 19th, that Pluto — also known as The Transformer; the planet of life, death, rebirth, renewal, and all things transformation — moved into Aquarius, where it will remain until 2043.

The Pattern App said, “The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was during the French & American Revolutions. Pluto transforms what it touches, so shadow material will be revealed." Aliza Kelly at The Cut wrote, “the focus shifts towards dismantling outdated hierarchies, making way for a society that thrives on inclusivity, collaboration, and forward-thinking solutions. It’s a powerful push toward a future in which collective dreams take precedence over individual gains, challenging us to rewrite the rules and rally together for a better, brighter tomorrow. Pluto into Aquarius signals a massive humanitarian revolution — activism like we haven’t seen before in our lifetime — so we can expect an era defined by massive cultural change.”¹

With planetary influences energizing a revolution, perhaps it’s because the orange one was elected, that people will feel even more galvanized to fight for change. Interesting times.

It makes me remember when I was a kid listening to my parents’ old LP of the musical Hair on the record player singing along, “This is dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” And just now I chuckled when I found this:

In 1968, a new musical called Hair celebrating rock music, hippies, alternative lifestyles, long hair, drugs, and free love opened on Broadway. The opening song proclaimed, "This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius...peace will guide the planet, and love will steer the stars." The staid New York Times called it “…so likeable. So new, so fresh and so unassuming…” even though it included a much-publicized (and outrageous for the time) nude scene. The counterculture, long dismissed by critics as silly, marginal, and even harmful to American society, was becoming mainstream.²

I have the sense that counterculture is becoming mainstream once again, especially with regards to re-claiming the Divine Feminine. This poem is just one recent example demonstrating this idea. Have you read

Danielle Coffyn

’s gorgeous poem, If Adam Picked the Apple?

IF ADAM PICKED THE APPLE by DANIELLE COFFYN

There would be a parade, 
a celebration,
a holiday to commemorate 
the day he sought enlightenment.

We would not speak of 
temptation by the devil, rather, 
we would laud Adam's curiosity, 
his desire for adventure 
and knowing.

We would feast 
on apple-inspired fare: 
tortes, chutneys, pancakes, pies.
There would be plays and songs 
reenacting his courage.

But it was Eve who grew bored, 
weary of her captivity in Eden.
And a woman's desire
for freedom is rarely a cause
for celebration.

…and I would add, "in a patriarchy.”

~

But it serves us well to remember that the human condition involves the tendency to not wake up or evolve, until we encounter challenge. When we begin to suffer more than usual, that’s often the time that we will do the inner work necessary for an evolution of consciousness. You can read about my own personal experience with this in my book, here: Chapter 34: Dark Night of the Soul, Sydney, 1999. And remember it’s possible to get a head start by doing the inner work towards personal and spiritual growth, now.

I wanted to shine the light on how the planets are conspiring towards this new era, which makes me think of this gorgeous quote from astrologer and author,

Rob Brezsny

:

All of creation is conspiring to shower us with blessings. Life is crazily in love with us—brazenly and innocently in love with us. The universe always gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. The winds and the tides are on our side, forever and ever, amen. The fire and the rain are scheming to steal our impossible pain. The sun and the moon and the stars remember our real names, and our ancestors pray for us while we’re dreaming. We have guardian angels and thousands of teachers, provocateurs with designs to unleash us, helpers and saviors we can’t even imagine, brothers and sisters who want us to blossom. Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up.

---

And regarding the upcoming holiday season and gathering with family and loved ones, if some of your rellies (that’s Aussie for family relatives😉) push your buttons, maybe this will help you too.

When Jamie and I eloped in Dallas, Texas on April 19, 1991, none of his three brothers, nor my three sisters were married. We don’t get to choose our ‘out-laws’😉 but we do get to know them well, as they get to know us too — with all of our gifts and our challenges aka our shadow or our ‘muck’ (again remembering the Lotus metaphor).

And if one of them ‘pushes our buttons’ or ‘triggers us,’ there is an opportunity. The younger version of Camilla, my younger ‘self’, was unconscious of my number one Inner Saboteur, which I’ve learned for me is the Controller. So I embodied the attitude of, You’re making me uncomfortable so I want you to change.

Not much fun for the people around me in my life.

I’ve done a lot of inner work to become aware of my Controller saboteur’s pattern: “Anxiety-based need to take charge and control situations and people’s actions to one’s own will. High anxiety and impatience when that is not possible.”³ And usually when awareness is brought to an unconscious pattern, it dissipates.

But as we move towards Thanksgiving here in the States, I observed this old anxiety pattern arise in me once again. And I’m so grateful I had an opportunity to talk with one of our Buddhist monk neighbors.

You can read more here to learn about the scene and setting at our neighboring Buddhist monastery, and below I write about what this monk said to me. However, I also recognize that my words will only point towards the kind of ‘energetic gift’ of his wisdom that I received. This is the limitation of words versus in-person connections. And I still want to offer these words.

The essence of what he said to me is, “You’re a good person. You get to show up and simply be who you are.”

The way he said it, and the way it landed in my heart, tears pricked my eyes.

This kind of radical loving kindness, acceptance, and compassion that these Buddhist monks cultivate, is a gift for our human species and for our planet. And is perhaps needed for our Mother Earth now more than ever.

Something inside me shifted. Maybe it was because, like a tuning fork, my whole being resonated with this kind of ‘impersonal’ or ‘liberational’ love that emanates from the more senior, practiced Buddhist monks. It was as though my soul was tuned like a musical instrument. Maybe it was mystical; something that transpired beyond my more logical, rational mind. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I felt such a sense of harmony and peace in my own heart. Any feelings of anxiety dissolved.

My intention is to carry this feeling of peace and harmony in my heart, with me into our upcoming holiday gatherings. And it never hurts to invoke the powers of divine protection too😉

~

I’ve also been having so much fun playing with AI software for creating images based on words, and when playing with the following words, this image below was created, which really speaks to me as I hope it does to you too. The words I played with included: indigenous elder walking on the path of the alchemical heroic journey of the divine feminine, astrology, zodiac, astronomy, New Era, indigo blue night sky with a bright, colorful, beautiful new dawn.

1. https://www.thecut.com/article/pluto-in-aquarius-november-2024-transit-meaning-expect.html

2. https://lsintspl3.wgbh.org/en-us/lesson/1968-time-of-change/12

3. https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs