Author Archives: RoseLyon

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About RoseLyon

Rose Lyon is a highly regarded American occultist, psychic and healer residing in Sacramento. She began formal study of the occult in her twenties as a regular visitor to a local curiosity shop. She befriended a local Wiccan priestess who taught her astrology, magic and tarot. This led to her formal initiation into the Craft in 1988. She continued her studies by joining the Clairvoyant training program at Psychic Horizons, graduating as a reverend in 1993. With a hunger for art and history she enrolled at SFSU in the theater program where her training exposed her to the ancient connections between shamanism and theater. Majoring in Drama with an emphasis in World Religions, she studied the history of Greek and European theater as well as Women's Studies. She graduated with a BA in Drama & Performance in 1997. Since then she has expanded her occult knowledge through studies of Irish folklore, Chinese astrology, herbal healing and Feng Shui. She is an adept healer and psychic, and continues her practice of tarot readings, psychic healings and marriage ceremonies while studying Ceremonial Magick and Qabalah with the Temple of the Silver Star.

Women of Age and Wisdom

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summer

“Women get more beautiful as they grow older. Not less.
Female youth is only prized in modern culture because it doesn’t represent as much of a threat spiritually to anyone who is frightened of divine feminine power.
As women grow and mature, they call in stronger forces of sacred feminine wisdom. They vibrate with the creative power of their stories.
They are more of a force to be reckoned with.
They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit.
When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in ‘slowing the signs of ageing’, an enormous vault of divine love is lost.
Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed.
Perhaps a total revolution would occur.~”
~Yogesh Kumar

5 Powerful Lessons Arya Stark Teaches about surviving trauma

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Arya-Stark

Arya Stark from the series “Game of Thrones” has fascinated me from the beginning. Now that we are at the end, I’m going to miss this character and the show itself. There is a rich, diverse, cast of characters in GoT, but I’ve loved watching Arya’s growth from the horrifying trauma she survived as a young girl, to the incredible woman she has become. This article addresses that very issue, and I found it to be full of insights for everyone. There are definitely spoilers here, so watch Season 8 first!

Here are the main five:

1. Her heightened instincts and ability to sense danger with alarming precision

As a child, Arya is trained by Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou) to be as “swift as a deer, quiet as a shadow, calm as still water.” She also learns that fear cuts deeper than swords. These are all lessons that will inevitably help her to defeat the Night King. Arya’s training with Syrio lays the crucial foundation for her sword-fighting abilities, but it is actually the dangerous incidents she is forced to confront head-on in everyday life that challenge and hone her ability to identify and navigate danger skillfully. It is in her life experiences after her initial training that give her the platform to utilize these lessons. From living on the streets of King’s Landing to fighting a trained assassin from Braavos while temporarily blind, Arya learns to defend herself against a variety of perpetrators even when she is just a child on the cusp of womanhood.
Many of us are familiar with the term “hypervigilance,” a state of hyper-attunement we can develop to our surroundings due to trauma. Arya develops it in spades as she learns to evade danger in every corner. Often, hypervigilance is seen as a negative symptom of trauma, but actually, there are times our heightened attentiveness can be useful for our discernment of someone else’s true motives and character. According to researcher Willem Frankenhuis, people who have been abused in childhood can develop what Dr. Michael Ungar calls “an uncanny ability to detect threats in their environment, an enhanced capacity to learn new things, and even improved memories when it comes to paying attention to parts of their environment that are the most relevant.”

As therapist Athena Phillips writes in a 2012 article for GoodTherapy:
“Survivors of trauma regularly inform me of what they experience as something akin to having superpowers. The capacity to feel things other people can’t, to identify either the goodness or inherent evil in someone just by looking at them, or to ‘predict’ interpersonal outcomes are some of the new-found abilities people have described. People who have experienced trauma often indicate that they are able to pick up on covert human behaviors, and there is a great deal of trust in their capacity to intuit. Oftentimes, these powers really do exist; survivors have developed a discriminating aptitude for picking up on environmental cues that may have significance to them.”

2. Her fragmented sense of identity and search for her true identity and wholeness.

Trauma creates fragments: It shatters the connection among memories, thoughts, emotions, and the self. Complex trauma survivors often find themselves confronting disparate inner parts that developed as a result of the traumas they endured; according to trauma experts, they must find ways to identify and integrate these parts in healthy ways in order to reach their true core calm and compassionate self. Much like any complex trauma survivor, Arya tries to escape the terrors of her childhood by taking on other identities and dissociating from her past except for her justified rage at those who murdered her family members. Arya’s need for vengeance ultimately creates a “protector self” that keeps her focused on a list of people she must kill rather than her true self and her grief.
Arya’s search for her own identity is also astutely represented by her brutal experiences at Braavos where she learns to become “no one” in her training to become a Faceless Man and assassin. There, she is beaten, terrorized, and challenged to fight back. Ironically, it is her journey to becoming no one that eventually leads her to own the fact that she is indeed someone. As she tells Jaqen H’ghar bravely and with conviction, “A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I am going home.” It is only when she integrates her darkness within her true self, recognizes her true power and strength from the traumas she has emerged from, that she decides she is going home. She goes home not just to her family but to herself.

3. Her post-traumatic growth and psychological self-mastery

As therapist Andrea Schneider notes shrewdly in her Game of Thrones blog series, characters who have endured trauma on this show can exhibit promising signs of post-traumatic growth, the positive psychological changes we benefit from after enduring adversity. While regaining a pre-trauma identity is next to impossible for characters like Arya, her post-traumatic growth is tremendous.
Not only does Arya learn to incorporate the life lessons of her trauma into her sword fighting and archery skills, she learns psychological mastery. She learns the art of resourcefulness even when she has nothing. She learns how to stealthily collect information (like when she does when acting as cupbearer to Tywin Lannister) to further her journey. She learns a great deal about patience, self-control, confidence, observing rather than reacting, and how to put herself in the mindset of her attackers and predators around her so she can anticipate what they will do—and can preemptively strike. As a result of her traumas, she gains wisdom and skill sets beyond her years, which many adults in the show are still struggling to obtain.
Arya has no explicit desire to be a leader or queen, but her ability to lead due to her experiences make her more fit for the throne than many others who seek it for personal power. It is her desire for justice, rather than power, that makes her unstoppable. Complex trauma survivors experience many of these same psychological benefits as they process, heal, and grow from their traumas. They can learn to navigate life with an increased sense of gratitude, fortitude, and develop a habit for making the best of their circumstances to create success and joy at an even more intense level than someone who has never been traumatized. As they heal, they have an incentive, drive, and determination that can far surpass that of the average person, as well as a greater sense of meaning.
It is only when Arya Stark integrates her darkness within her true self and recognizes her true power that she decides she is going home.

4. Her darkness has to be integrated in order to fully own her light.

Arya is a curious character in that she is not encouraged to forgive those who have wronged her or took the lives of her loved ones. That is what makes her one of the most phenomenal female characters on television: her darkness is not minimized or sugarcoated. It is recognized, along with her authentic outrage, in all of its unflinching glory. And skilled trauma therapists agree: forced, premature forgiveness can actually hinder a survivor’s journey because it invalidates how we really feel and does not give us the time or space to actually process our traumas.

Trauma therapist Anastasia Pollock puts it this way:
“The people I work with in the therapy room are resilient and courageous. They are able to work through their traumas, but many get caught up on one point: They believe they are supposed to forgive the perpetrator but can’t seem to get there. This is what I tell them: You don’t have to forgive in order to move on. Emotions are important and automatic. When we can acknowledge and appreciate even the darkest, most negative-feeling emotions, they often soften and release. As soon as I say, ‘You don’t have to forgive,’ the person usually breathes a sigh of relief.”

Unlike a woman who turns the other cheek and goes immediately into love and light without any kind of transformation beforehand, Arya turns to her sword, Needle, to deliver a much-needed message to perpetrators like Walder Frey (David Bradley). The North remembers, and so does she. She avenges her loved ones one by one, and when she does, we can’t help but cheer from the sidelines.
Although in real life this form of vigilante justice is unrealistic, not recommended and quite gory (none of us should be baking our enemies into pies—we’d have a more productive time processing our traumas in therapy), we learn an important lesson about trauma: it cannot be spiritually bypassed. Our so-called “dark” emotions must be acknowledged in order to fully own our true light. The outrage and rage we feel must be seen, heard, experienced, confronted and (while perhaps not shown on this show) healthily expressed in order to be healed. Whether Arya’s quest for revenge is misplaced is up for debate, but one thing is for sure: this young woman is not your typical depiction of a trauma survivor who forgives and forgets her way into healing. Yet her intense emotions are an all too real part of this journey.

5. Her resilience and strength would not be the same without her experiences.

While none of us would ever volunteer for the traumas we experienced, we can’t help but admit that we would not be who we are without them. We can still validate and honor the injustice of our traumas while acknowledging the internal resources and coping skills they granted us. Trauma can give us the strength and resilience of a sumo wrestler, and Arya is no exception. As whole families are killed, legacies wiped out, and kingdoms come under siege, Arya remains—one of the few survivors of her family. A weary traveler and warrior, she is forced to confront what no child should have to endure. But she does endure, and she is better for it.
At the end, it is this little girl who grows up to be the warrior woman—who ultimately conquers the darkness. No one expected her or saw her coming. Everyone underestimated her. And therein lies her greatest power. It was the traumas of her past that gave her the ability to defeat the Night King, to avenge her loved ones, and to protect her community. Complex trauma survivors, too, are capable of this same kind of resilience—and the ability to give back what they never received.
Arya is every little girl who grew up in terror and trauma. Who survives impossible situations through her resilience, grit, talent, and determination. Whose identity is previously in fragments, only to become whole as she comes into the woman she was always meant to be. And yes, she is truly ruthless when it comes to her enemies. Yet it is perhaps her ability to own her demons that make her even more powerful when she’s avenging her loved ones, enacting some sweet justice and saving the world. We can all learn life lessons about trauma from this brilliant, multifaceted and truly one of a kind character. She is all of us who have survived—and thrived.
This article originally appeared on Psych Central as “5 Powerful Lessons Arya Stark from Game of Thrones Teaches Us About Complex Trauma Survivors” 🔥

by Shahida Arabi: a bestselling author of three books on emotional abuse and trauma.

Medieval Magick – Chapter 1 of ‘Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires’

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Interesting post by Aaron Leitch on the historical development of Western occultism.

kheph777's avatarAnanael (The Secrets of Wisdom)

And while we are on the subject:

Chapter One of “Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires”:
http://kheph777.tripod.com/secrets_chap1.html

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Medieval Magick

Chapter One of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires
by Aaron Leitch

The Medieval and Renaissance Eras

The “classical age” of the grimoiric texts is roughly equivalent to the span of the Middle (or Medieval) and Renaissance ages. The Middle Ages began roughly in the fifth century CE, when the empire of Rome was both infiltrated and violently overrun by Germanic tribes. This is when the famous sacking of Rome took place at the hands of the Vandals, in the year 455 CE. The established government was slowly inched out of power, and Italy became little more than an extension of a German kingdom. The vast Roman Republic faded away, and was replaced by a wholly agricultural society.

The Roman government, however, was not willing to simply vanish into the pages of…

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Love

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love

“Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, love never fails” ((( ♥ )))

-Unknown

The Case for Disappointing Men

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Photo courtesy of Toni Birrer(CC ShareALike)
“Women, in general, are conditioned to hinge our value and self worth on how well we can please others, what we can provide for them, how well we take care of them — because our safety, our social status, our success in the world depends on it.”

This article is such a great read! It illustrates some of the common experiences of women in relationships. I related to most of what the author sets forth here – not just in my romantic history but across the board in many different types of partnerships!

Here are some excerpts from the full article:

“My husband used to sigh a lot. He’d do it even when nothing was wrong. Sighs punctuated his sentences. He’d plop down with them, rise from his seat with them. He never noticed himself doing it, but I did. It became a point of contention in our house. Each time he sighed was like nails on the chalkboard of my soul — I felt a visceral need to get to the source of it.
“What’s wrong?” I’d always ask, immediately stressed.
“Huh?”
I would try to get him to assign the sigh a cause and he would assert that it was meaningless and to ignore it. I could never let it go, though. Because his sighs felt like soft accusations, made worse by the fact that I could not resolve an unspecified slight. His sighs signaled discontent, and I have been groomed by society to believe that his discontent is unwaveringly my responsibility. And so somewhere buried beyond my ability to transcend, every sigh felt like a declaration that I was disappointing him. And for many women, an accusation of being disappointing, no matter how soft, always feels like a threat of disposability….

And so when men express displeasure, many of us compensate. We remain on high alert for potential problems. We become so good at deterring disappointment, we anticipate needs before they have to be vocalized. We tidy messes before the messes are even made. Even this fixation is a disappointment to many men. Women are deemed neurotic, anxious, and uptight by men who only get to consider themselves easygoing because they’ve never reconciled their nature with the ways women shield them from discomfort. There are men kept so warm within the worlds women create that they forget that it’s winter, forget that generating warmth requires energy.

The other day after a very long day with my kids I mustered the energy to clean. On my hands and knees I picked up tiny pieces of hot pink play-dough, dozens of scattered toys. My son came behind me and undid it all within minutes. Something shifted in me.
“You saw that mommy went through all that effort to keep the house clean, right?”
“Yes, Mommy, Mickey Mouse,” he said, his eyes on the tv. He wasn’t listening.
I got up and turned it off, and told him to pick up his toys. He threw himself to the ground in a tantrum, and I let him lay there until he was done. I decided his disappointment was his own problem to resolve.

The way to prevent raising sons who would dispose of me for disappointing them is not to never disappoint them. It’s to teach them to be comfortable with their own disappointment. To allow myself some humanity and make them responsible for navigating their feelings. I am doing myself, them, and other women a disservice in not doing so. In a world where men feel entitled to women’s bodies, time, and labor — it’s imperative to teach them otherwise. That requires a little disappointment on their end.

…If I want to make myself comfortable in my own life, I have to decide to not be deterred by the disappointment of others. Not doing so means being chronically disappointed in myself. I am teaching myself to let people down for my own sake, no matter their power. Because power over myself is the only power not contingent on others. Power over myself can’t be taken away, only relinquished.”

New Moon in Taurus

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Minton Majolica, Aubergine-Ground ‘Marochetti’ Cistern, Mid-19th Century

New Moon in Taurus 3:45pm Pacific, Saturday May 4th. (exalted Moon)
Mercury at 26 Aries
Mars at 22 Gemini
Venus at 17 Aries
Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto retrograde

Today’s new Moon occurs in the middle of Taurus – the 2nd decan:  “A man with a body like a camel, with cow’s hooves on his fingers, and he is completely covered with a torn linen cloth. He desires to work on the land, sow and build. This is a face of nobility, power and rewarding for the people” ~ Picatrix

The Moon is “exalted” in Taurus, which means it expresses itself easily. This gives a calm, sensuous and indulgent feel to this weekend. With Mercury in Aries in mutual reception with Mars in Gemini, we can also grasp and share the truth. Kickstart your mind into a higher gear, and focus on achieving your potential. All of the earth signs bring up the issue of what we’re committing ourselves to, and if we’re in need of an update.

A new moon occurs every month when the Sun and Moon are in the same sign. It’s the beginning of a 30-day lunar cycle, and it’s when you set your intentions for the coming month. As the Moon grows, your intention grows in form and scope; coming to fruition at the full Moon two weeks later. Forming an intention is instinctual, since the Moon is black and there’s no illumination of the night sky. The Sun (the light) is also hidden, so we must ‘feel” our way, since we cannot see clearly.

Uranus is currently in Taurus, and it will shake up and change wherever Taurus sits in your chart. It’s probably an area that has started feeling stagnant; a corner of your life that needs some fresh air. Uranus brings liberation, and a new way of expressing the genius within you. This corner of your like will radically transform in the next seven years. If you want a reading on Uranus and your chart, You can book a reading here.

 

With retrograde Saturn and Pluto trine the Sun and Moon, we re-examine the ground we’ve traveled over the last year, and heal our karma. Hard work finally pays off. We experience the abundance of life when we plan, build, and take responsibility.

 

Week of April 22nd

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Sun in Taurus.
Mercury Direct in Aries: Refresh your mind and begin something.
Venus in Aries: Rebirth in art, love and finances. Make a fresh start.
Mars in Gemini
Jupiter retrograde (backwards) in Sagittarius
Saturn/Pluto conjunct in Capricorn

Keep a low profile this week, meet your responsibilities and don’t rock the boat. There is huge energy under the surface that is unearthed this week in our personal and collective lives, and we need to be nourished, contemplative and calm to walk through it.

Sunday, April 21st – We start the week off with a bang. Sun conjunct Uranus in Taurus shakes things up around what we value – especially our love lives. Our values, as well as home, possessions and finances, could take a completely different direction. Go with the flow and accept the change, because it is the path to liberation.

Monday, April 22nd – Moon in Sagittarius, Sun in Taurus. Get all loose ends tied up in preparation for the huge aspect on Wednesday.

Tuesday, April 23rd – Moon void of course in Sag most of the day. Try not to make big decisions or sign anything.

Wednesday, April 24th – Pluto is stationing (standing still above us) and turning retrograde (backwards) around noon Pacific time. At the SAME TIME, Pluto will be conjuncting Saturn (timing, responsibility and control). This is a huge turning point in our personal lives and the world. The US is also having it’s Pluto Return – which can stir up revolution, reform and massive change.
Individually, our toxic, underlying issues are rising up to be healed by Pluto. This spurs us towards a rebirth of the structures we have built in our lives by Saturn. This is a BIG DEAL. If you’ve been stuck in self doubt, self hatred or living out other people’s ideas, prepare to be liberated and reborn. If you’ve built your life on shaky ground, or avoided responsibility for your actions, prepare to grow up fast. Sacrifice your past mistakes and weaknesses in the great fire of Pluto and start anew. Seek the light within you. Encourage it to grow. This conjunction sets off a major reorganization of our lives that will gain steam and relevance over the next several months. The goal is to create a new, sustainable paradigm for true living.

If you’re feeling tired or sick this week, please rest.
If you’ve been moving too fast, slow down.
If you’ve been overly focused on gaining approval from others, practice self care.
Stay connected with friends and family.
Stick to the facts and don’t take risks this week.
Change your daily habits.

Thursday, April 25th – Moon in Capricorn activates the current Saturn-Pluto hubbub, bringing up emotional responses to the issues at hand. Leave the past behind and bring in what nourishes you.

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Rasmus Berggreen, Into the Abyss

Friday, April 26th – Moon void of course in Capricorn most of the day. Contemplate the changes in motion. We are in the last quarter of the Moon, so you don’t have to work hard or begin anything new for the next week. Just rest, let go of what you’ve outgrown, and wrap up loose ends.

Saturday, April 27th –  Moon in Aquarius. Mars square Neptune in the early morning. It’s a good day to embrace visions, and take action on the ones that really call to you.  Just be really clear on what you’re doing before you take action. Neptune can make you spacy or bring up the desire to play the victim.

Monday, April 29th – Moon in Pisces. And if all that wasn’t enough!!! Saturn stations retrograde above us in Capricorn at 5:55pm Pacific. When Saturn retrogrades, things in our lives can feel less stable. More developments from the Pluto-Saturn conjunction last week could arise.
Focus on why you are here. What is your purpose in this life? Are you accomplishing it? If not, how can you find ways to restructure your beliefs and your habits to help instead of hinder your mission?

 

How to be Happy

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Excellent new article about the keys to happiness! A lot of these things take concerted effort and discipline, but they are so worth it. I think a lot of what we do each day is based on habits, and habits can be changed.

By Tara Parker-Pope

“Everyone has the power to make small changes in our behavior, our surroundings and our relationships that can help set us on course for a happier life.

  1. Mind
    Happiness often comes from within. Learn how to tame negative thoughts and approach every day with optimism.

Conquer Negative Thinking
All humans have a tendency to ruminate more on bad experiences than positive ones. It’s an evolutionary adaptation — over-learning from the dangerous or hurtful situations we encounter through life (bullying, trauma, betrayal) helps us avoid them in the future and react quickly in a crisis.
But that means you have to work a little harder to train your brain to conquer negative thoughts. Here’s how:
Don’t try to stop negative thoughts. Telling yourself “I have to stop thinking about this,” only makes you think about it more. Instead, own your worries. When you are in a negative cycle, acknowledge it. “I’m worrying about money.” “I’m obsessing about problems at work.”
Treat yourself like a friend. When you are feeling negative about yourself, ask yourself what advice would you give a friend who was down on herself. Now try to apply that advice to you.
Challenge your negative thoughts. Socratic questioning is the process of challenging and changing irrational thoughts. Studies show that this method can reduce depression symptoms. The goal is to get you from a negative mindset (“I’m a failure.”) to a more positive one (“I’ve had a lot of success in my career. This is just one setback that doesn’t reflect on me. I can learn from it and be better.”) Here are some examples of questions you can ask yourself to challenge negative thinking.
First, write down your negative thought, such as “I’m having problems at work and am questioning my abilities.”
Then ask yourself: “What is the evidence for this thought?”
“Am I basing this on facts? Or feelings?”
“Could I be misinterpreting the situation?”
“How might other people view the situation differently?
“How might I view this situation if it happened to someone else?”
The bottom line: Negative thinking happens to all of us, but if we recognize it and challenge that thinking, we are taking a big step toward a happier life.

Controlled Breathing
Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality. Buddha advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.
Try it.

Rewrite Your Story
Writing about oneself and personal experiences — and then rewriting your story — can lead to behavioral changes and improve happiness. (We already know that expressive writing can improve mood disorders and help reduce symptoms among cancer patients, among other health benefits.)
Some research suggests that writing in a personal journal for 15 minutes a day can lead to a boost in overall happiness and well-being, in part because it allows us to express our emotions, be mindful of our circumstances and resolve inner conflicts. Or you can take the next step and focus on one particular challenge you face, and write and rewrite that story.
We all have a personal narrative that shapes our view of the world and ourselves. But sometimes our inner voice doesn’t get it right. By writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves and identify obstacles that stand in the way of our personal well-being. The process is similar to Socratic questioning (referenced above). Here’s a writing exercise:
Write a brief story about your struggle. I’m having money problems. I am having a hard time making friends in a new city. I’m never going to find love. I’m fighting with my spouse.
Now write a new story from the viewpoint of a neutral observer, or with the kind of encouragement you’d give a friend.
Money is a challenge but you can take steps to get yourself into financial shape.
Everyone struggles in their first year in a new city. Give it some time. Join some groups.
Don’t focus on finding love. Focus on meeting new people and having fun. The rest will follow.
Couples argue. Here’s what your situation looks like to a neutral observer.

Numerous studies show that writing and rewriting your story can move you out of your negative mindset and into a more positive view of life. “The idea here is getting people to come to terms with who they are, where they want to go,” said James Pennebaker, a psychology professor at the University of Texas who has pioneered much of the research on expressive writing. “I think of expressive writing as a life course correction.”
Get Moving
When people get up and move, even a little, they tend to be happier than when they are still. A study that tracked the movement and moods of cellphone users found that people reported the most happiness if they had been moving in the past 15 minutes than when they had been sitting or lying down. Most of the time it wasn’t rigorous activity but just gentle walking that left them in a good mood. Of course, we don’t know if moving makes you happy or if happy people just move more, but we do know that more activity goes hand-in-hand with better health and greater happiness.
Practice Optimism
Optimism is part genetic, part learned. Even if you were born into a family of gloomy Guses, you can still find your inner ray of sunshine. Optimism doesn’t mean ignoring the reality of a dire situation. After a job loss, for instance, many people may feel defeated and think, “I’ll never recover from this.” An optimist would acknowledge the challenge in a more hopeful way, saying, “This is going to be difficult, but it’s a chance to rethink my life goals and find work that truly makes me happy.”
And thinking positive thoughts and surrounding yourself with positive people really does help. Optimism, like pessimism, can be infectious. So make a point to hang out with optimistic people.
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2. Home
Where you live — the country, the town, your neighborhood and your home — all have an effect on your overall happiness.

Finding Your Happy Place
Imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?
This so-called happiness ladder is famously used as a way to measure and compare happiness across the globe. The “World Happiness Report” ranks countries based on the subjective well-being and happiness of people who live there and their responses to the ladder test. Here are the 10 happiest countries on Earth:

 

Aries New Moon Horoscopes

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New Moon in Aries TODAY at 1:50am. Aries is the first sign and rules the head. We are starting a brand new astrological year today; courage, creative inspiration, leadership and persistence are all highlighted in April. Let the spark of your soul expand and express itself.

Several planets are in a great position until April 19th! All of us can make real progress on important projects and plans. Take steady action on your dreams. Things will be getting tense at the end of April with Jupiter and Saturn going retrograde until August, so use today to spur you to action. Also, in June there will be a BIG, tense standoff between Mars in Cancer opposing Saturn and Pluto. NOW is the time.

The horoscopes below are written from the perspective of rising signs, but there are threads of meaning if you read for your Sun sign too. If you don’t know your rising sign, or ascendant, you can plug in your birth information here to find it.

Aries rising – New Moon in Aries today! Your ruler, Mars, is traveling through Gemini right now, making you strategic in your ambitions. Your dreams are achieved through communication with your social circle, so get out and network in your community. With Mars in Gemini, your brain is super-charged with passion and drive, so express it for all to see.

Taurus rising – You have an EXCELLENT Spring ahead of you! Your ruling planet, Venus, has moved into Pisces, which is her natural home. Venus expresses herself easily though Pisces (exalted), and this makes Taurus’s life flow smoothly. In fact, every sign is feeling this enhancement in matters of relationships, art, beauty, love and socializing.
Projects or jobs started now will make  good money down the road. Most important is for Taurus to live in reality and the truth.

Gemini rising – In a word, ACTION. With Mars in your sign it’s time for you to be self-propelled and decisive – which is challenging for a Gemini. It’s no longer enough to spin around in your head about things you want to do, you need to make a plan and stick to it. If you can do this, and stay in your truth, your life will positively expand. The universe is helping you do that for the next couple of months.

Cancer Rising – You are benefitted by the North Node (good luck and destiny) in Cancer for the next year or so. Fertility, creativity and vulnerability are all qualities that each sign can aspire to this year. The New Moon in Aries today is giving you a kick start towards fully expressing yourself without limits or judgement.

Leo Rising – The New Moon in Aries, Jupiter in Sagittarius, and your ruler the Sun (exalted in Aries) are all sending you some lovely, fresh energy to get your passions rolling out to the public. You are probably feeling some sparkly energy and excitement this month. Aries is asking you to get started on the dreams you’ve been sitting on all winter.

Virgo rising – Ugh. OK well things aren’t too bad, but you’re feeling a little untethered to the Earth. Your ruler, Mercury is still slogging through Pisces (detriment). Mercury doesn’t really dig being there, it’s too dreamy and unfocused. I advise to work on embracing your visions for the future, and network your future potential with other people. Mercury will be in Aries soon (in two weeks), and you will be ready to start taking real action.

Libra rising – The New Moon in Aries is supercharging your partnership sector – which includes lovers AND biz associates. It’s a difficult time to pin them down on anything because there’s so much energy in the air, but Mars in Gemini is a good mediator. Progress can be made by having a plan and talking it out.

Scorpio rising – Your svengali-type characteristics are currently super-charged with your ruler, Mars, abiding in Gemini. You are the great mastermind behind everything in your arena. That New Moon in Aries is motivating you to take action on things near and dear to your soul. It’s all about focusing that razor-sharp mind of yours towards daily goals.

Sagittarius rising – You value truth, honor and integrity, and Jupiter in it’s natural home in Sagittarius (exalted) is inspiring you with new philosophies about your identity. You’re feeling at home and centered with the new expansion of your world that started last December. The only issue right now is that things might come TOO easily. Remember to challenge yourself with things that you want but are not firmly in your grasp. Also, try not to gain too much weight. Jupiter in Sag increases everything, even your waistline.

Capricorn rising — You are currently expunging and purifying your past with Saturn, Pluto, and the North Node traveling together in Capricorn. At least Saturn (your ruler) is giving you tremendous stability and support! Saturn in Capricorn is in it’s rulership, and it’s energies of discipline, concentration, responsibility, ambition and focus are easily accessed. There might be some big challenges you’re facing; the only way forward is to evolve. The universe is asking you to release any unhealthy motivations around power and control, and to move towards vulnerability.

Are you standing up for yourself? Who has power over you? Who do you let have power over you? Saturn and Pluto this year are also revealing what we’re still holding onto that we can’t hold onto anymore.

Aquarius rising – Mars in Gemini is sending you some wonderful, fresh energy in your Creativity sector. Aim high and take action on bringing your Aquarius visions down to the earth plane. Your Spring is about socializing and networking your creativity ideas to your peers. If you’re able to do this you will experience positive movement.

Pisces Rising – Neptune (your ruler) in Pisces has you floating like a cloud while using your intuition to gain movement. Meanwhile, Jupiter squaring Pisces is keeping you grounded by offering up new philosophies about your identity. The Aries New Moon is keeping you focused on your spiritual beliefs – this is the way to illuminate the steps you must take to stay on your path.