Dec 18, 2020
I am so thrilled to bring you the very first episode of Mystical Messages! Thank you for joining me. It has been a long time in the making and planning stages and today is the BIG DAY to finally launch.
For our first episode, I would like to introduce myself and tell you how I came to be interested all things metaphysical and ultimately a practicing astrologer. Afterward, I will briefly cover the origins of astrology and then wrap up this episode with my astrology forecast for the next two weeks covering Christmas and New Years.
First, let me take this opportunity for you to know a bit about me and why I am so passionate about the metaphysical realm that I created a podcast about it! My introduction to this realm started very organically, with my grandmother teaching me about the astrology signs and their meaning. She sparked my interest but as I grew, there wasn’t a lot of support or avenues to direct me. While I tried avoiding my curiosity and sticking to mainstream subjects like writing and literature, I found myself repeatedly drawn to the astrology and metaphysical sections in bookstores. Yes, this was Pre Amazon.
My curiosity gradually turned into a passion, one that felt clandestine and naughty as my parents were not big fans of astrology and none of my friends shared my interest. Life rolled on and I found myself married with two children. It was the mid 1990s. It was after my second and youngest daughter was born, astrology kept creeping into my life. Safe to say, astrology chooses you, you do not choose it. This is true of nearly all the intuitive practitioners I know and work with, that their field of expertise unfolds right in front of them, drawing them into their particular circle of wisdom and passion.
In my case, I had a push me-pull me relationship with astrology. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the subject matter and craved learning more. But what I didn’t like was the perceived stigma, that everyone thought my astrological interests were a little weird. So I kept pushing my passion away, holding it bay. Until, I got sick. Yes, sometimes life has to hit you over the head with a sledgehammer to drive the message home.
I had recurring, often overlapping sinus infections. How appropriate you might say: a blockage of my third eye chakra. The infections went on for over a year until finally I sought more than just relief with antibiotics. I decided to go under the knife and have sinus surgery. WRONG! I definitely took the wrong fork in the road. The ENT surgeon nearly botched the surgery and suffice it to say, I was hardly cured of the sinus infections.
As a confirmed proponent of allopathic medicine, I wavered; yet still suffering from raging sinus infections, I grasped for solutions to my pain. Finally as a last resort, I turned to acupuncture. Lo and behold, at my first appointment, on the book shelf of my acupuncturist, I spotted Isabel Hickey’s classic work: Astrology, A Cosmic Science. I eyed the book tentatively as the acupuncturist went to work and hitting one meridian point after another until when, at the very end of the session, she hit a point called Soul Door, a point that blew me wide open; not physically but energetically. There was no turning back. I borrowed her copy of Isabel Hickey’s book and promptly devoured it. Bells and whistles blew loud and clear, clanging: you are now on the right path. Keep going! I began buying every astrology book I could get my hands on. I enrolled in classes and started studying with veteran astrology teachers in Boston where I am blessed to live among a cornucopia of talent. Two years into it, after hand drawing my own astrological charts, I uploaded software to my computer and began reading for clients in 2001. Twenty-odd years later, I have a global clientele and ever growing practice.
Gradually, I didn’t care what other people thought of my passion. Astrology became an integral part of me, who I am, my identity. I came out of the astrological closet so to speak. If other people had an issue with my practice, that was their problem, not mine. And as I came to learn, most healers I know first awaken to their talent in a similar way to my own journey: by getting sick and stumbling around for solutions. In their search, as with mine, they are led to their own healing. However, without a community or a supportive tribe ready at hand to connect with others as they walk on their newfound spiritual healing path, can be a long, isolating and lonely road.
These days, it is infinitely easier to find like-minded people due to our cyber connectivity. Still, I know there are many budding lightworkers, who due to their upbringing with certain family, religious or community beliefs, find it difficult to access resources and guidance to foster their talents. Knowing the lack of immediate support via community sparked a driving force within me to create this podcast and offer a broader format for those who are just beginning their intuitive journey and seek support, guidance and direction.
So you might ask, what is it about astrology specifically that spoke to me? Even as a child, growing up in a very mainstream Protestant household, I felt astrology connected the dots of life. It offered a larger perspective about “why” and “how”, two of my favorite questions then and still. 1969 was the first lunar landing. I was 5 years old at the time. The Apollo landing made quite an impression on me. The moon seemed ever more accessible. I realized the stars held the answers if only we asked why and how come?
Turns out, I was far from the first to seek answers from the stars above. In my thirties as I began studying astrology, I learned from Master teachers how this ancient subject started in the first place. Which brings me to my next talking point: the origins of astrology. How did it all begin?
Not unlike my own journey, man sought to make sense of his world by gazing at the night sky. Astrology is the science of studying planetary movement and the interpretive art of how these movements influence man. It is a celestial art and science that dates back to Babylonia, roughly 2000 years before Christianity, when the first records kept of cosmic and planetary movement were written. Life was agrarian; farmers and shepherds tracked and noted the correlation between the stars and their way of life. Such as the moon that disappeared and reappeared every month, and less often a bright star they called Ishtar, Isis and later Venus that became visible in the morning and then in the evening.
Planetary movement influenced the natural world integral then to man; deeply bound to nature, fisherman noted how ocean tides are connected to lunar cycles, and told farmers when to plant and when to harvest crops. Even now, increasingly removed from the natural world, man still largely lives his life by the rising and setting of sun. By the time of Christ’s birth, the Wise Men who arrived from the East, or Babylonia, are considered astrologers as they followed the Star guiding them to Bethlehem.
With the rise of Christianity, came the dark or middle ages. As the growing church sought greater control, astrology, which putsthe power and wisdom in the hands of the individual, gradually became heretical, a dark art or occult. As a sidebar, occult simply means knowledge that is hidden, not the dirty or sinister connotation it frequently has. The burning of the Great Library of Alexandria in the 4th century AD certainly helped the decline of astrological knowledge. With the fire, ancient collections of all variety of metaphysical texts went up in smoke. As a result, along with other healing arts, astrology went underground during the middle ages. Fortunately, the study and practice were kept alive in the East, in the Arabic countries from whence the Wise Men came.
Today, astrology is enjoying an immense resurgence of popularity thanks to technology and phone apps and avid interest from millennials seeking to understand the why and how, the existential questions to life not always answered by mainstream organized religion, modern philosophy and psychology. Much like when I first began studying in earnest 25 years ago, new generations seek to know how and why each and every planet in our galaxy influences our lives, particularly in the western hemisphere. Eternal questions still pervade: why am I here, is there more to life than birth, work and death, what is my purpose, how can I be of service?
If you are interested in astrology or have a budding interest to learn this ancient art and science, national organizations such as ISAR and NCGR can connect you to astrology teachers and classes. Please see this podcast show notes for these organizations’ contact information. I also offer an on-line, go at your own pace, beginner’s course Astrology 101 available for download from my website www.hilaryharley.com
Now, let’s turn to our astrology forecast for the next two weeks to find out what’s up for the final days of the year that has become the notorious 2020.
December is always a time for truth telling. Ordinarily, this is because the Sun cycles through Sagittarius for most of the month along with one or more of the interior planets such as Messenger Mercury or Valuable Venus. Sagittarius speaks honestly, sometimes with a blunt edge of truth. This December 2020, the emphasis on Truth is exponentially raised due to two signs Sagittarius along with the usual players, the Sun, Mercury and Venus.
The day after the second eclipse on Monday, December 14th, a new moon solar eclipse marking definitive beginnings, Venus shifts into Sagittarius ensuring that truth and the law, justice, prevail, especially in our relationships. We are more concerned with the honesty of our values, in life, ourselves and others. We focus now on what gives meaning, purpose and relevancy to how we earn a living. Are you pursuing work that fulfills you as well as generating income? Is it work you are proud of or passionate about? Sagittarius Venus, Mercury and Sun seek to learn and pursue adventures that stretch us personally in body, mind and spirit.
On Thursday, December 17th, Taskmaster Saturn enters Aquarius and paves the way for Generous Jupiter to join two days later on Saturday, December 19th. The significance of this shift cannot be overstated. This great cosmic shift marks a quantum leap for mankind. It truly is a remarkable time to be alive. The titans unite every 20 years. The last time was 2000, in Taurus. Now in 2020, this pair have united at the end of Capricorn and the beginning of Aquarius, two remarkably different signs. Capricorn is the old; Aquarius is the new. The mission of their alliance in these two signs and at these notable degrees sends an unmistakable message: out with the old, in with the new.
Capricorn, where Saturn and Jupiter joined forces for much of 2020, stamped a seal on established customs, traditions and ways of life that have had their say and seen better days. The Old Era is now done, done, done, over and gone with a clear, certain finality. Let me be super clear: an immense gate is closing to any old, outdated conditioning and programming, systems that have served their purpose but no longer have any meaning or relevance going forward. In quick succession, as the gate to the old is firmly closed and the door to a brand new, shimmering avenue is opened. We are crossing into a future of infinite opportunity if we stay open-minded. Over the next few weeks, it is an excellent use of your time and energy to wind up and close out any habits, relationships, lifestyles, or work that hold you back from being 100 percent pure unadulterated you.
A revolutionary threshold is upon us: Will you cross over?
Within two days, titans Jupiter and Saturn move from dense and deadly serious Capricorn, to light, inventive Aquarius; taking us with them, we shift from the heaviest earth energy to a light, frothy frequency. All new, all the time is on the agenda for the next 12 months. The Titans usher us into a brand new age: inventive, connected, avant-garde, non-mainstream, highly individualized marching to its own drummer yet operating within a team, marked by networking and technology, and radical, rebellious, and revolutionary. Aquarius pushes boundaries and tweaks us out of our comfort zones; gets off on exchanging information and ideas, from the simplest concept to solving steep problems to reaching for the most extreme, far-fetched possibilities.
By December 20th, we are now firmly in the Age of Aquarius. There is nothing too wild we can imagine. Consider, after all, one hundred years ago electricity (ruled by Uranus and Aquarius) had just been “discovered”. Imagine how we will live 100 years from now? The Aquarian mind says there is no limit. Over2021 and in years to come, there is no space or place for lack of authenticity. Regardless of what anyone else thinks, says or does, you must be uniquely you. Everyone else is taken. So get out of your own way and hop into your imagination.
As Einstein said, “the imagination is the gift, the mind is the servant. Man has made the mind the master and the gift a slave.”
No more.
We will now live the inverse of this tenet where imagination rules. Jupiter-Saturn demand we rise to meet life in brand new ways throughout 2021. The doorway to our new life is highlighted and emphasized by the Winter Solstice on Monday, December 21st, when both Sun and Messenger Mercury enter practical Capricorn. Greeting us at the threshold of the next season, Sun-Mercury steer us to apply our fired-up ideas and inventive notions in a realistic, useful way. This pragmatic duo asks us to consider: You may have all the creativity in the universe but if it isn’t useful to your neighbor, what good is it?.
The best place to start solving problems and answering questions is right in our own backyard, in our own home, family and community. We see the importance of this under the growing light of the waxing moon, climaxing to Full in its own sign of Cancer the Crab on December 29th. Doing your own thing is great and all, says the Cancer Moon; but first, let’s connect to our own beings and our loved ones; then gradually extend care and compassion outward like great ripples, embracing each other as one, unified whole.
Links:
IG: @hilary-harley
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ISAR: International Society of Astrological Research www.isarastrology.com
NCGR: National Council for Geocosmic Research www.geocosmic.org