Astrology of Joy

Author: David

  • Your Sun-sign Forecast: August/September 2023

    Your Sun-sign Forecast: August/September 2023

    23 August through 22 September 2023

    Your monthly horoscope according to your birth sign (sun).

    Virgo Sun
    Happy Birthday to you… đŸŽ¶ Another yearly sun cycle has come to an end; another beginning has begun. What will you make of yourself this coming year, Virgo? For now, the question of who am I strongly reverberates through your work and activity. Let it rise to the surface and lead you to an answer…

    Libra Sun:
    Transformation begins with acknowledging the person bigger than who we think we are. This month, allow the feeling of letting go illumine your higher sense of self and bring clarity to your sense of belonging… doing so will answer your questions of income…

    Scorpio Sun
    Believe, Scorpio! Your self-effort and sacrifice creates income opportunities and if you don’t see the fruits this month, you will have laid the foundation for future windfalls. Important people are taking notice…

    Sagittarius Sun
    Opportunity comes to you through what you know, but more so, through your innate abilities to share and teach that knowledge to others. This month would be a great time to take a retreat in nature or a pilgrimage to a sacred place.

    Capricorn Sun
    The answers you seek are found in the shadows of your thoughts behind the closed doors of what you think is possible. This month, it is what is not seen that holds the answer. Open these doors and see what’s inside. You may find Luck and Fortune waiting…

    Aquarius Sun
    Be open to receiving a lesson this month on how to receive what is rightfully (karmically) yours in relationship. A gentle nudge given at the right moment to your partner can open their mystical possibilities…

    Pisces Sun
    Your relations are in need of a boost. Good thing the sun in Virgo will help. The trick is to get the important people in your life to see the beauty in taking care of their physical obligations towards themselves and their worldly affairs. You can help show them the way…

    Aries Sun
    Taking care of business is the first step toward fulfilment. If you are unsure of what is your business, do what is in front of you. Take a step and from there, take another. Soon you will be walking out the door.

    Taurus Sun
    Ah, Taurus! Creativity in the home brings you comfort… and answers! As an earth sign, do something messy like making mudpies or using your body as a paint brush to paint your living room. Well, maybe you don’t need to go so far, but you get my meaning….

    Gemini Sun
    Cut loose, Gemini! Performance brings you contentment. No need to book a stage; go out under the stars and dance. Read a poem to stranger and if you have the inclination, then find that stage and let your light shine…

    Cancer Sun
    You and Gemini share a lot in common this month. However, for you I suggest focusing on poetry and song. And to make it sweeter (and easier), find a group with whom to share your new found courage…

    Leo Sun
    Roar like a lion, Simha! Find that soapbox and tell it like it is. In no time you will be eloquently sharing your ideas to all your friends and neighbours and if they aren’t around, there are always the birds and a few stray dogs to impress… 😁

  • Yogi’s Corner: Accountability

    Yogi’s Corner: Accountability

    Real life stories from David’s spiritual diary…

    One of the great ironies of human behaviour is how we quickly judge others with very little consideration of our own affairs. What we rail against most loudly is often what we have percolating on high within ourself. It’s as if we subconsciously believe we will stamp out our own shortcomings by condemning others. In this day of social media anonymity and the passing of the buck, the lack of accountability has become the standard way of doing business. From YouTube trolls to Twitter Tweeters, we hide behind aliases, fake names, and faceless commentary.

    I am reminded of a manager at the ashram I lived in upstate New York who had fallen asleep on the late night shuttle ride from JFK airport in New York City. Two and a half hours later, he woke up at the ashram and groggily asked the driver if this was the shuttle, meaning the shuttle to the dorms. The relief driver, thinking he meant to JFK airport, said ‘yes’ whereupon the manager quickly fell back to sleep. Two and half hours later, he wakes up back at JFK. When told there was no need to pay for the return trip back to the ashram since it was an honest mistake, the manager would not hear of it. “If I don’t pay for my mistakes,” he told the driver, “who will?”

     đŸ€—

  • Yogi’s Corner: Compulsions

    Yogi’s Corner: Compulsions

    Compulsions are neither good nor bad in and of themselves and if we allow them to simply be with no attempt to resist or indulge them, we find that they simply play out on their own in a natural, unobtrusive, even beneficial way. We realise this when we watch very young children…

    Years ago at a yoga retreat centre in upstate New York, I walked with my toddler daughter down a stretch of silent path that meandered through a woody glen. Cut into the woods at regular intervals were small enclaves that held the statues of well-known characters from the pantheon of India. My daughter was just beginning to discover her bipedal nature and held my hand tightly as we slowly walked down the path. When we approached the statue of Hanuman, the monkey-faced deity who represents ideal devotion, she let go my hand and walked over to the base of the statue. Curious, I watched this unsteady, diaper-bottomed little girl bend over and search for something in the expanse of small pebbles that kept the surrounding weeds at bay. One after another, she picked up a stone, examined it, then let it fall back, unsatisfied. She did this several times until she finally found one that met her approval. Setting it on the pedestal at the feet of Hanuman, she then circled the statue not once, not twice, but three times. Mind you, she was only about thirteen or fourteen months old with a very limited vocabulary. After completing her third circumambulation, she wobbled back over to me, took my hand, and we continued our walk through the woods.

    What compelled this mere toddler to offer both a gift (the pebble) and her respect (three times around), an obvious act of devotion common to many cultures, especially India? She did not learn this from either of her parents and she was not present at any such events where this might be seen. Perhaps in her relatively unconditioned mind, the impetus from an unknown past seized the moment and rushed through like a rising tide onto the shores of an estuary. It simply had to be; there was no other way.

    Where does one life begin and another end? đŸ€—

  • Book Recommendation for Children

    Book Recommendation for Children

    Are you familiar with The Treasure, author/illustrator Uri Shulevitz’s multiple award-winning children’s book? A beautiful, wholesome book and proof that a child’s read is no place for ideological indoctrination: just keep it simple and heartfelt and your child will supply the rest. 😉

    Summary: A poor man named Isaac has a dream that tells him to go to the city and search for treasure under the bridge near the Royal Palace. He pays no attention to it; after all, it is only a dream. But after he dreams the same dream twice more, Isaac decides he will journey to the city to search for the treasure. Though at times someone would give him a ride in their cart, he mostly he walks. Through forests and over mountains, he finally arrives at the city.

    The bridge by the Royal Palace is guarded day and night. Isaac is afraid to search for treasure, but he keeps coming back until the Captain of the Guards asks Isaac why he is there. Isaac explains his dream and the Captain laughs at him. The Captain says if he was foolish enough to follow his dreams, he would be on a journey to the village where a man named Isaac lives, and dig up treasure under his stove. Isaac bows to the Captain and starts his long journey back home. He crosses mountains and walks through forests. Sometimes someone would give him a ride, but mostly he walks. He finally arrives at his village.

    When he gets to his home, he digs under the stove and finds a treasure! In gratitude, he sends the Captain of the Guards a priceless ruby and builds a house of prayer with the inscription, “Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near.” and lives the rest of his life happily. đŸ€— 

  • Your Sun-sign Forecast July/August 2022

    Your Sun-sign Forecast July/August 2022

    July 23 through August 22, 2022

    Leo
    Happy Birthday, Leo! Have you ever looked closely at a busy sidewalk after a rain when the snails come out? Not a pretty sight. Confidence is not enough (for both the snails and humans); we also need clarity. But I believe in you, Leo. With your sun in its own sign this month, your outer brilliance is second only to your inner shine. Light up the world, Simha!

    Virgo
    You can be a world-beater this month, Virgo, but not with a big stick. Spend some time with yourself and you will rediscover a beautiful aspect — your ability to serve the world. Follow your charitable brilliance with your pocketbook and you will open a door you didn’t realise was there. 

    Libra
    Your ability to generate income has always occupied a significant place in your thoughts. This month, you can help make it real by spending time with successful people. If you don’t know any, that’s okay. Go to where they hang out. Rubbing shoulders, like rubbing sticks, is the first step toward a roaring blaze.

    Scorpio
    Can you put your tendency toward activity to an advantage? Yes! Where else but in right action. This month, the sun is telling you to do what’s right. And guess what, Scorpio? That means first being kind toward yourself. Then, discover a better connection to work by being honest with yourself. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life doing what you are doing? Maybe yes, maybe no… the choice is yours.

    Sagittarius
    Nature is calling you, Sagittarius! Do you hear it’s call and if you do, will you answer? It’s that wild thing inside you that speaks of ancient times dancing ’round the fire, under the stars. And who might be there dancing with you but the Lord of Abundance and Prosperity
 

    Capricorn
    Do you ever hear whispers in the middle of a warm August night coming to you on the wings of a gentle breeze through an open window? They call for you, Capricorn, but fear not for they are the cry of your own heart, the yearning to find a deeper meaning to it all. This month is your chance. You’ll find it ‘far from the maddening crowd’


    Aquarius
    The potential of relationships is seldom realised because we are too busy trying to get something rather than give. Be warned, however, for even giving can have a selfish intent behind its rosy facade. The sun in Leo shines a light on your relationships so you can see the truth to what it is you bring to others. No matter what you discover, know that your potential is unlimited beauty.

    Pisces
    Compassion and empathy have always been strong points. This month, get a sense of what you mean to others by bringing resolution to their troubles. In the process you’ll discover how health and healing form two sides of your equilateral triangle representing the world. The third side? Selfless service of which you have an abundance. This month, step out into the world and shine your light!

    Aries
    Do you feel the urge to pick up a paintbrush and create a masterpiece? What about finishing that novel you started but never finished? Never even began? No worries. But please do something creative this month, Aries. Big or small, good, bad, or ugly, you’ll find that it’s not the bark of the dog that matters, but its bite. So stop barking and take a bite. No, not out of your neighbour, Aries — out of Life! You’ll find the taste is habit forming.

    Taurus
    What’s the difference between house and home, Taurus? Simple enough: a house refers to space (bricks and mortar) and home refers to place (emotional connection). But O my! How confused we become. Let place guide you and space is sure to follow. And the place to start? With yourself. This month, you have a chance to really see what it is that makes you tick. Hint: it is not home and family. Confused? Good. Confusion is the first step toward knowing.

    Gemini
    There is a blazing fire burning within you this month, a fire of desire. But it’s a strange fire: the more fuel you add, the less it burns. Better to simply let it burn with no intention. What you will discover is that what you have been seeking is not really what you want. There in the ashes sits the object of your desire, a golden wish-fulfilling nugget that needed fire to burn away the dross. Let the fire reveal what it is you really want.

    Cancer
    You eloquence reaches new heights this month. Whether it bloats your ego or does the world a world of good depends upon whether you bathe it in compassion and season it with humility. I think the latter is your destiny for no other reason than I trust you. Don’t make me eat my words, Cancer; I have eleven other signs to dine on. ?