Where Energy Flows

In my last post, I wrote about “Sensual Feng Shui” and how we can enhance our surroundings in ways that activate and delight all of our five senses.  When the senses are fully engaged, our experience of the world around us expands as does our sense of joy and pleasure.

Over the last few days, I have been thinking more about this and one thing that struck me was how our Astrology also plays into what we find sensual, pleasurable and beautiful. 

Our Astrological make-up influences our desire and appreciation for art, furnishings, textures and color.  And, each Astrological sign finds different things stimulating when it comes to their personal surroundings.

In my own Astrological chart, the sign that most heavily influences my tastes for beauty and sensory pleasure is Taurus.  Taurus loves texture, fabrics and artistic, beautiful objects.  The Taurus in me is especially attracted to quality handmade objects like thick oriental carpets, pottery with voluptuous shapes and interesting glazes, richly colored hand-woven textiles with natural dyes and other earthy furnishings.

What about some of the other signs?  Well, someone with Cancer as their sign might find sensory pleasure in the kitchen or in the soft curves of a comfortable armchair.  Virgo may find their senses are most delighted in their herb garden.  Capricorn loves things that have a practical nature and furnishings that have a good structure. Someone governed by Libra may appreciate sensory pleasures in the master bedroom with luxurious high thread-count sheets or satin pillows.  And, Aquarius may find their senses are stimulated with objects that are high tech and modern. 

These are just a few examples. 

Interior Alignment™ practitioners use astrology to help tailor feng shui changes to our client’s individual needs.  Interior Alignment™ focuses on one’s Moon sign, but I have found it useful to consider the attributes of both the Sun and Moon sign.

So consider the attrubutes of your sign and think about what sorts of things might please your senses.  Enjoy discovering what satisfies your sign!

Copyright 2008, Deb Swingholm.  All rights reserved.

Last week, on my way to one of my favorite breakfast spots, I passed an elaborate Ceremony in progress - the installation of a Spirit House and an Ancestor House for a new business.   And, I was honored to be invited to stay. 

In Thailand, each building has small shrines that are dedicated to the nature spirits and to the “Grandparent” spirits of the people who first lived on the property.  Some of the houses are made to look like miniature temples.  Others look like traditional Thai teak homes.  Some are whimsical and all are eye-catching and beautiful.  Offerings are made at these shrines every morning and evening. 

Great care is taken to place these shrines in the most auspicious location and Astrology is consulted to make sure that they are installed at an auspicious day and time.  And they are put in place with a great deal of ritual. 

For this installation ceremony, two large tables took over the front lawn of the building.  The tables were heavy with an assortment of offerings - flowers, water, red soda pop, whisky, plates of sweets, large wooden trays with fruit piled carefully into towers, incense, candles and two pig’s heads (an especially expensive and lucky offering).

A serious looking, older man dressed in white presided over the ceremony.  His role, a combination of priest, geomancer and astrologer.   It is his job to select the proper location for the Spirit House and to make sure that the timing of the ceremony is accurate.  He performed specific blessings and set the statues and other ornaments into position.   

At one point in the midst of this lovely ceremony, there was a bit of a hitch.  The geomancer attempted to place a Buddha image into the Spirit House, but the base of the statue was too wide to fit through the narrow door.  The business owner disappeared and quickly returned, carrying a hammer.  With a “wai” (a small bow with hands over the heart) and a prayer offered to the Buddha, she gave the base a few whacks of the hammer.  It still didn’t fit.  So, more prayers, more “wais” and a few more whacks with the hammer followed.  Finally, the statue fit and the ceremony joyfully continued on.  The Spirit House was adorned with flowers and brightly colored garlands, the candles were lit and the business owner prayerfully placed the first sticks of incense onto the altar.  

I see many Spirit Houses and Ancestor Houses every day, as I walk around town.  So, it was really wonderful to witness an installation ceremony.  Yet again, I am moved by the way that ritual and ceremony are such an integral part of life here in Thailand.  I love the way laughter and playfulness balance the seriousness.  And, I continue to be intrigued by the way the practical and the spiritual are woven together so closely (remembering Buddha and the hammer!). 

Living here, I am constantly reminded to bring spiritual elements into my own daily life and to do this in a meaningful, yet routine and ongoing way.  

Copyright Deb Swingholm, 2008  All rights reserved.

Changes in the cycles of the seasons or the movements of the sun, moon and stars often give us points in time that are particularly wonderful for doing ceremony, ritual, space clearing or personal growth work. 

A few things of note are happening in the seasons and in the sky over the next few weeks:

Jan 21 - Jupiter-Saturn trine, exact.  This powerful and productive influence (which occurs again in September and November) encourages building new, cooperative structures.  It can offer support in the practical manifestation of our dreams.

Jan 28 until Feb 18 - The planet Mercury turns retrograde.  These retrograde periods allow us to reflect and go back to old projects or issues.  This month, utilize the Aquarian capacity to find new and creative solutions.

February 1 — Venus-Jupiter conjunction. This will be the first of two meetings this year between the two brightest planets in our sky. This beautiful meeting between the planet of love and beauty and the planet of expansion will be visible in the early morning sky, about 45 minutes before sunup. On Feb. 4, a luminous crescent moon will join the two planets. 

Feb 2 - Candlemas.  Brigid’s Feast of the Waxing Light. As the sun’s light grows stronger, traditionally this is a time to seek healing and inspiration.  And - as Brigid was the ancient Celtic Goddess of water and fire - it is a time to honor the sacred flame and holy well.  I have always found that this is a wonderful time for doing ceremony or space clearing, as the energy is one of purification and initiation.

February 20-21 — A total eclipse of the moon occurs during the late-night hours of February 20-21. This eclipse can be seen in much of North America, occurring during evening hours, although Europeans will also be able to enjoy a view of the darkened moon before it sets. Adding to this event, Saturn and the bright star Regulus will appear close to the eclipsed moon forming a broad triangle.

Deb Swingholm, 2008

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day one day I’d be teaching a class on astrology! For one thing, in the past I considered astrology to be the realm of entertainment. And that is fine - entertainment is great! I just couldn’t see the logic of it and therefore remained a ‘polite skeptic’. But often it is the skeptic who fall the hardest, when they fall in love.

And indeed I confess to being in love with astrology — Interior Alignment™ astrology at any rate. My affair began in 2004 when I began training as Interior Alignment™ Teacher. When I returned home from my training I ordered a birth-chart from one of the on-line companies — and was disappointed. Mind you this company tells it like they see it — they don’t mince words - it is just that I didn’t like the words being said about me! I felt like I just got the ’bad news’ and was left high and dry and I thought, now what? What does it mean? Can I change this assessment or is my fate sealed whatever I do?

I believe that with Interior Alignment™ astrology, the answer is yes. Interior Alignment™ astrology is not an interpretation or predictive course. It is based on the principle of archetypes.  For example, the first thing I explore with a client is their Sun sign. The archetype of the Sun sign is the outward expression, the public face you present to the world.

I find that your Sun sign can directly correlate with the big lesson you are here to work on in this life time. Your Sun sign can also manifest as your highest self, or your authentic self, when it is balanced. So, in doing a consultation, I have a conversation about what being in balance with your Sun sign looks like. It is through this coaching relationship that includes taking stock of where you are and doing specific homework assignments that, while not changing your birth-chart, gives you the opportunity to step into your highest self.

For me, Interior Alignment™ astrology helped me to understand where my strengths are: as a student doing the research and going deeply into a project (Scorpio Sun), and as a teacher, finding new ways to present material and expressing my delight in passing on what I’ve learned (Libra Rising).  

And so, here I am, as a Master Teacher and Advanced Teacher of Interior Alignment™, doing what I am supposed to do. There is vulnerability and risk in this chosen path as whenever one offers a passion to the world there is a risk of meeting indifference, being ignored or rejected.

In the bagua, this exploration of one’s path is the Fame gua. In my book, Odyssey of the Heart - Paths to Wholeness through Feng Shui, I write “You are both a receiver and a transmitter of light: You take light into your being in the form of inspiration, courage, faith, and love, and then you reflect and illuminate the way for others. As you begin to glow with inner light, you can make a significant difference in your own life and also in the world around you.” And THIS, I know comes from my higher source and the most authentic expression of my Sun sign.

Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2007. All rights reserved.