Starshine News
Vol.13, # 1
Fall 2008
www.starshine-galaxy.com
www.writes-of-passage.blogspot.com
Dear Friends,
These are scary times. We have an election looming, as I write, and it’s basically up for grabs. Our
sense of political figures’ ability to take responsibility for their own actions has long been shattered.
Our trust in a democratic process in feeling that we are truly choosing our candidate was seen through
in the last election. I’m curious to see what parlor tricks and sleight of hand tactics will be employed in
this next one. How high are the stakes, really! And to what extremes will some go to insure their
champion wins, and their ideology is carried forward.
I would say to you…hold to the Light as much as you can. Few of us can see the larger evolutionary
hand at work here. Speak your truth and you will be heard by those who can hear you. And keep us
all in your prayers. Ultimately, we are all Her children.
On a lighter note, I have been facilitating a women’s writing group for the past sixteen months, and we
have now gone to press to create a book. Please see the mini review in the Book Reviews Column
and the enclosed flyer. During the process I have become a small press, Starshine Publishing, and this
new book is added to the previous three I have self-published.
For those of you who are local, come join us at our Book Release Party on Nov.15th!
May all our dreams be heard by that larger heart.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Jyoti
Fall Meditation
Sitting quietly, breathe and relax. Picture yourself surrounded by Light. Ask for the peace that passes
understanding.
Receive what’s given.
Send this Light to any person you know who is struggling.
Give thanks for the blessings you have.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
New Book Release Party for A Week’s Worth of Women.
Saturday, Nov.15, 4-7PM. 2810 Wilderness Pl. Ste. B (behind Mont.bell) Boulder. Come join us
for food and wine and celebration.
STARSHINE NEWS
Vol. 12, #4
Summer 2008
www.starshine-galaxy.com
www.writes-of-passage.blogspot.com
Dear Friends,
“Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else will be added unto you.”
I never forgot this biblical statement. It was quoted in one of my Astara lessons (metaphysical teaching
lessons) years ago, in reference to not getting caught up in psychic phenomena as you walked your
spiritual path.
To keep your sights set on the goal…the Light…knowing Truth…not getting caught up in the glamour
of the side rooms off the main corridor.
The admonition had been, that as you seek the Truth, other aspects of your psyche, of your
awareness, would open and develop as a natural progression. Your intuition would heighten, your
hunches more frequently correct, your psychic impressions more on target.
And yet your focus would be on the ‘Kingdom of heaven’…whatever that might mean to you…and
developing that place in you that could know it and expand it.
I’ve recently come from the International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG) Conference in Saratoga
Springs, N.Y. It’s a gathering of 400+ women from all over the country, and several countries outside
the U.S. I had a wonderful time with the classes, with the women I met, the acceptance I received
from all and everyone. I so enjoyed my week there.
I posted a daily blog on the day-to-day even http://www.writes-of-passage.blogspot.com.
If you haven’t checked out http://www.aweeksworthofwomen.blogspot.com do yourself a favor
and go there. From the writing group I began last year, we have evolved into a seven member blog
that now posts daily on this site. Each woman picked a day of the week, and each week she adds a
piece of poetry, memoir, or prose to the site. Seven days, Seven women…A Week’s Worth of
Women.
Blessings,
Jyoti
Summer Prayer
Oh Light that fills my cells, that permeates every cell of the world, fill all of our hearts with the
generosity of spirit.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
Writing Group forming in August/Sept. in Boulder. Let me know if you’re interested by email or
phone.
From the large jug, drink the wine of Unity,
So that from your heart you can wash away the futility of life's grief.
Hafiz
Summer 08 Astrology Column
We begin July with the New Moon on the 2nd. All kinds of writing and communication are favored.
Be as clear as possible in your relationships. Freedom of artistic and emotional expression is sought.
Look to the new! On July 4th, Mercury catches up to where it went Rx in May, and moves on. The
6th is a day of wanting freedom of self-expression, the 9th and 10th bring challenges. Sun trine Uranus
on the 14th and is a very idealistic and live-and-let-live kind of day. The Full Moon on the 18th brings
a cautioning to not create polarities. Ask for what you need up front, not insinuate. Financial matters
are changing, transforming. We enter Leo on the 22nd, enjoying insights with the day, and the 26th
brings lots of fertility and movement. We end July on the 31st with Venus oppose Neptune,
relationship agreements may need clarifying.
August rushes in with a Solar New Moon Eclipse. This is an extremely powerful eclipse (see article
Eclipse Alert! in this issue). It heralds a change in how we live, our financial situations. Expansion
draws us. Be willing, however, to see everything, not just what you want to see. The 4th brings Venus
trine Pluto, a strong empowering day, while the 6th brings caution against accidents. Deep insights on
the 9th trust issues on the 13th and on the 15th, we wonder if we know what’s going on…some
confusion. The Lunar Full Moon Eclipse on the 16th gives us strength of purpose, visionary capacities,
yet caution not to go overboard. Analyze, discern, look deeply. Keep spiritual path moving forward.
The next day, the 17th, Mars squares Pluto and brings power plays and challenges. Sun trine Pluto on
the 21st, brings a strong day to step up and make things happen. Sun enters Virgo on the 22nd,
unexpected events over the 23-29, a bit of a roller coaster (the Democratic National Convention is
Aug.25-28th). There’s a Blue Moon/New Moon on the 30th. Stabilizing, laying foundations, with
expansion in mind. A lot of personal power available. Don’t abdicate.
On Sept. 3rd, the Sun squares Saturn, pushing us to challenge authority, even our own, and Mercury
enters its shadow for the next Retrograde cycle. On the 4th, we expand with Sun trine Jupiter. The 7th
bring Jupiter going Direct (Retrograde since May 9th) and we bring our spiritual concepts to bear in
the outer world. Pluto goes Direct and we get to express the inner transformation of the previous five
months. Expect the unexpected on the 12th and lightly for the next few weeks. The Harvest Full
Moon on the 15th gives personal insights and the courage to speak your truth. Truth has healing for
everyone. Music and singing flourish on the 17th, poetry and fantasy on the 19th, and the 20th
reminds us where we give our power away. We enter Libra on the Autumnal Equinox on the 22nd.
This next quarter of the year brings power struggles, things not being what they seem, yet a strong
energy to manifest what we believe to be true. Mercury goes Retrograde on the 24th (until Oct.15th),
bringing up relationship issues and the need for clear communication and decision making. The New
Moon on the 29th says power plays continue…relationships feel changeable, up and down. Dividends
are possible. Look to new healing tools for old problems. Happy Fall!
New Moon July 2 8:19 PM (MDT)
Mercury catches up July 4
Full Moon July 18 1:59 AM (MDT)
Sun into Leo July 22 4:55 AM (MDT)
Solar New Moon Eclipse Aug 1 4:13 AM (MDT)
Lunar Full Moon Eclipse Aug 16 3:16 PM (MDT)
Sun into Virgo Aug 22 12:02 AM (MDT)
New Moon/Blue Moon Aug 30 1:58 PM (MDT)
Harvest Full Moon Sept 15 3:13 AM (MDT)
Autumnal Equinox Sept 22 9:45 AM (MDT)
Sun into Libra “ “ “ “
Mercury goes Retrograde Sept 24 1:17 AM (MDT)
New Moon Sept 29 2:12 AM (MDT)
Mercury’s Cycle
Enters shadow Sept.3
Retrograde Sept 24
Direct Oct 15
Catches up Oct 30
Summer 08 Book Reviews
The Blue Corn Murders by Nancy Pickard (based on a character created by Virginia Rich) The
mystery follows an older woman on a visit to an archeological dig. She’s a guest, along with several
other women as different from each other as can be. A body is discovered and some are left to fend
for themselves. I enjoyed the story line and character development. ISBN0-440-217-85-2.
Lisa Scottoline’s new book…Lady Killer…A Mary DiNunzio mystery. Excellent.
Carla Neggers’ new book…Angel…takes place in Ireland and has all the usual elements that make
her work great.
The Pink Carnation Series by Lauren Willing. Early 19th century England juxtaposed with modern day
Britain. Spies for England during Napoleon’s reign battle with French spies, and the young women
who live in that culture interact with both. Each of the books stands on its own. The Secret History of
the Pink Carnation; The Masque of the Black Tulip; The Deception of the Emerald Ring. All very
Jane Austen-ish. All very enjoyable historical-iction-romance-mystery. Last book: ISBN 978-0-451-
22221-3.
Captain Saturday by Robert Inman – ISBN 0-316-08973
I loved this book because it’s about a man who had it all, lost it all and then found true meaning in
something simple that was there all along. It’s a fast moving, often laugh out loud story about Will
Baggett, the Channel 7 weatherman in Raleigh, NC. He has a license plate that says ZATUWILL –
he’s everyman’s hero until the day his world falls apart when he gets booted from his wonderful job
with about five minutes notice. He goes a little crazy then and lots of wild and sometimes hard to
believe things happen to him. In the end however, he finds true meaning in something that he has
always loved doing and he also re-defines his personal relationships and his whole outlook on life.
This is a lite summer read which is enjoyable for the basic story but is also meaningful on a deeper
level – the level of doing what you love and the money and happiness will follow. Review by
Lorraine Banfield, MA, NCC, AHC - www.lorrainebanfield.com
Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neal Hurston
Zora Neal Hurston was an African-American folklorist during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. A
woman in her early forties, Janie tells the story of her life and journey via extended flashbacks to her
friend, Pheoby, so that Pheoby can tell her story to the nosy community on her behalf. Janie's life has
three major periods corresponding to her marriage to three very different men. ISBN: 0-06-093141-
8 Guest reviewer: Gerry Hughes.
Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche by BillPlotkin “Soulcraft” is an
amazing book. Written by a man who is a depth psychologist, ecotherapist and wilderness guide, it
offers a profound exploration of what it takes to travel down into our authentic selves. Plotkin weaves
his wide-ranging knowledge base into an interdisciplinary, multi-cultural soul journey that blew me out
of the water. A must-read for all who are on the path deeper into themselves. Guest reviewer Dr.
Melanie Harth, HarthWorks www.harthworks.com 303-579-9533 ISBN: 1-57731422-0
I feel her twirling, spinning, dancing all around me. Boundless joy. Freedom, movement, beauty,
divine light, wholeness, healing. The infinite spirit of Natalie dancing gently on the breeze. Flowing
lovingly with the pure delight of Life. Life and wholeness, flowing through all that she is to us.
Lightning through the darkness. Beloved beauty with deep gratitude I thank you for your lifting
lightness, through the darkness of my day. I see you shining so brightly there in wholeness and
incredible beauty and boundless endless love. Thank you. I love you too with all my heart. Vickie
Novak (after Natalie’s passing)
Diary of a Psychic: Shattering the Myths by Sonia Choquette. A memoir-type telling of the author’s
childhood as a psychic from 6 years old into adulthood. As a teenager she was ‘reading’ for people
everyday after school, and accurately ‘seeing’ into people’s lives. She details the many paths she
walked down in her own psychic development journey, including her metaphysical training. A great
read. www.soniachoquette.com
ISBN 1-4019-0192-1.
Sweet Potato Suppers: A Yankee Woman Finds Salvation in a Hippie Village by Patricia Lapidus.
The author speaks of being declared a terrorist in the late 70’s by the U.S. government, along with
1200 other people living on The Farm, in Tennessee. Living here in community for a decade, with
others of like ideas and visions of family life, they all were suddenly catapulted into ‘straight’ life in
town in order to continue their family lives. Patricia relates stories of day to day events in her
community life…births, weddings, tending to the farm, raising children collectively…and how she shed
the rigid viewpoints of her childhood and found herself. ISBN0-9613949-3-5
Haunted Bordentown by Arlene S. Bice
History has left its imprint in the form of ghosts and spirits. The historic town of Bordentown still has
children playing in the Clara Barton Schoolhouse............ from the 1850s. Commodore Charles
Stewart walks along the riverside at midnight when the moon is full and other true stories by citizens
who still live in Bordentown, N.J. ISBN: 978-0-7643-2859-6.
I love my past.
I love my present.
I’m not ashamed of what
I’ve had, and I’m not
sad because I have it
no longer. Colette
Eclipse Alert! Aug.1, 2008
Heads up to people born in these specific time frames:
Sept.’41-Jan.’42
July’42-Sept.’47
Jan.-July’48
For these people, this New Moon Solar Eclipse is going to sit very closely to their natal Pluto. It is a
new cycle of empowerment. These are mostly pre-baby-boomer aged people. Some were coming of
age during Eisenhower and the beat generation, were originators of the hippie movement, and some
are just hitting retirement age now. This whole group will be sparked to stand up and look at where
they need to take their power back and where their transformative work still calls to them, for
themselves and everyone else.
For people born in the specific dates below, it is even more powerful…
Sept-Dec’43
Aug’44-Mar’45
May-Sept’45
Jan-July’46
These people will be hit exactly and feel called to do something perhaps extraordinary, especially in
terms of their own lives and how they’ve lived up until now.
Remember an Eclipse usually takes 3-6 months to manifest itself. So by Christmas ‘08, we may see
some of the effects.
“The things that make you a functional citizen in society—manners, discretion, cordiality—don’t
necessarily make you a good writer. Writing needs raw truth, wants your suffering and darkness on
the table, revels in a cutting mind that takes no prisoners, wants to hear about an abortion, a broken
heart, a failed job, a lost opportunity.” Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend From Far Away: The Practice of
Writing Memoir.
Jyoti Wind
2635 Mapleton Ave.#9
Boulder, CO 80304
303.541-9106
Wind9106@msn.com
Starshine-galaxy.com
STARSHINE NEWS
Vol. 12, No.3
Spring 2008
www.starshine-galaxy.com
http://www.writes-of-passage.blogspot.com
Dear friends,
I think it’s important that we ‘hold space’ for others. Whether sick and in need of prayers, whether life
is taking them through difficult passages, or whether we are the recipient of another’s story, it all
matters what we do with that energy. Do we remember to hold them in light/prayer. Do we listen with
an open heart and not let our eyes glaze over with our own thoughts of what want to say next. Can we
show up in an honest and compassionate way and allow our own ‘stuff’ to just take a momentary
back seat. It will always be there when we return.
It’s important to show up for our friends, families, and clients. And it’s equally important to choose
those who will show up for us, so that we are met in equal measure, so that someone receives us and
our words and feelings.
I see this, time and again, in writing groups. People bring something they’ve written to share with the
group. Sometimes they’re unsure how it will be received, what people will think. Yet they read it. And
they’re heard. It’s wonderful to watch the person as their words are being taken in and received. And
the group brightens with each story, with each opportunity to share what they liked about the reader’s
story, and then to read their own and have it be taken in by others.
Receiving has so many different side, shapes and qualities, especially through listening…listening to
another’s words, or their feelings, or their hearts.
Blessings,
Jyoti
Spring Meditation
Sit quietly. Take several long, deep breaths. In front of your mind’s eye, picture a rose bud, gently
petalled, wrapped tightly in on itself. With each breath, see the rose begin to expand, begin to slowly
unfurl, petal by petal.
Keep your focus gentle. Keep breathing, staying with the unfolding flower to the end, where the rose
is fully open and exposed to the Sun. Bask in the Sun with the fully opened flower.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Astrology Column
April begins with Pluto stationing/going Retrograde on the 2nd, and we’re off and rolling along Pluto’s
highway of transformation, only now (until Sept.8) Pluto is working his magic inwardly. Mercury
squares Pluto on the 3rd and insights are available. Mars catches up from when it went Retrograde on
Nov.14th on April 4th and we move on from all the events of the Fall. The New Moon on the 5th is a
push to take care of business, whatever that might be for each person, yet not get in your own way.
There’s a need for perceptual shifts in some areas. Power plays on the 6th, possible debates on the
10th and the 18th brings more clear-sightedness and structure. April 20th brings the Full Moon of
Taurus, long held sacred as the time Buddha was enlightened. This Moon represents a cycle of
empowerment, being able to land on your feet from choices made. Deliberate on your spiritual path.
The 21st is a stabilizing day. Earth Day (22nd) is a day of freedom of self-expression.
May begins with Saturn going Direct on the 2nd. Looking back to the Winter Solstice, we can pick up
the threads of diet, health, discernment that have been more internalized since then. Now we can bring
those ideas into our day-to-day life and make them more real. The New Moon on the 5th brings
expansiveness, awareness of goals and moving through what’s true and what’s illusion. On the 9th-
12th Jupiter goes Retrograde and brings one’s inner goals to the surface. The Full Moon is a Blue
Moon on the 19th and pushes at places of self-limitation and opens up opportunities you never would
have guessed. Emotional strength is high. On the 22nd, frustration until you say okay to what you
usually would turn away from, thinking you couldn’t do it. Mercury goes retrograde on the 26th (until
June 19th) in Gemini and we look at our communication skills. How do we share what we see, what
we know? How do we ask for what we need. Neptune also goes Retrograde this day (until Nov.1st),
and we work on our spiritual life from an inner perspective.
June begins with a New Moon on the 3rd, bringing a lot of diversity, opportunity and unexpected
insights and situations. Expect the unexpected on the 12th. The Full Moon on the 18th includes
challenges, some confrontations. There is a grace here with relationships and being able to express
feelings. Mercury goes Direct on the 19th and we begin to regroup over the next two weeks. On the
Summer Solstice (June 20) this quarter begins and brings a highly creative energy. Power trips raise
their head over the summer quarter. Remember the right use of power is to own it and help everyone
around us step into it as well. June ends with Mars trine Pluto, a powerful day on the 30th.
Transformation is the strength of the day. Happy Summer!
Mars catches up and moves on…April 4
New Moon April 5 9:55 PM (MDT)
Sun enters Taurus April 19 10:51 AM (MDT)
Full Moon April 20 04:25 AM(MDT)
New Moon May 5 6:18 AM (MDT)
Full Moon/Blue Moon May 19 8:11 PM (MDT)
Sun enters Gemini May 20 10:01 AM (MDT)
Mercury goes Retrograde May 26 9:48 AM (MDT)
Neptune goes Retrograde “ “ “ 10:15 AM (MDT)
New Moon June 3 1:23 PM (MDT)
Full Moon June 18 11:30 AM (MDT)
Mercury goes Direct June 19 8:31 AM (MDT)
Summer Solstice June 20 5:59 PM (MDT)
Remember a Blue Moon means that something out of the ordinary may happen.
Mercury’s Cycle:
Enters the shadow May 10
Goes Retrograde on May 26
Goes Direct on June 19
Catches up on July 4
Murder in Scorpio by Martha C. Lawrence. Following parapsychologist P.I. Elizabeth Chase through
murder investigations, we discover she uses the paranormal and astrology to help her solve the crimes.
I was thrilled to come across these astrological murder mysteries. The author worked as a
professional astrologer and lives in California.
A good read! ISBN 0-312-95984-2.
Book Reviews
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter By Kim Edwards
The center-point of this story is the black hole into which Dr. David Henry falls after making a split-
second decision. The year is 1964. Norah Henry is birthing their first child. Because of a blizzard,
David, an orthopedic surgeon, delivers the child himself in his clinic, assisted by his clinic nurse. A
healthy son is born and tended to. Unexpectedly, another child comes, a girl, unmistakably
Mongoloid. Norah, deeply sedated, lies unaware as David asks the nurse to take the infant to an
institution. Later he tells his wife the baby died at birth.
Caroline, the nurse, upon seeing the grim conditions at the institution, takes the imperfect baby home
with her. She soon moves without a trace, determined to raise the child as her own.
Both decisions hang heavy. At first seeming revocable, the silence and secrets over months and years
add up to tortured lives, not only for Caroline and David, but rebounding to Caroline’s husband, and
Norah, and Paul, their son.
Ms. Edwards explores the depths of human nature, of cause and effect, of meaning. Music and
photography play subtle roles, as does the reality that is Down Syndrome. Throughout are woven
times of other decisions, and the reader wonders about guilt and innocence, and how we are given the
opportunity time and time again to make things right. How will we know that finally, in our life, it may
be too late? Or that, all along, it was as it was meant to be.
ISBN 0 14 303714 5 Guest reviewer Holly Morgan
The Last Jew by Noah Gordon
In the frightening world of Spain at the turn of the 16th century (1489-1509), the Jews, who have
been a part of Spanish life for centuries, are forcibly expelled from the country. Some of those who
cannot bear to leave their former comfortable lives, or cannot travel, become conversos, choosing to
convert to Christianity. Of the relatively few families that stay, there are those who truly embrace
Catholicism and Jesus, but many who secretly keep the Sabbath in the old way. Discovery, or
renunciation by an enemy, brought a horrendous death.
This is the story of Yonah Toledano, son of a celebrated Toledo silversmith, whose father and older
brother have been killed by priest-Inquisitors. At fifteen, large and strong for his age, Yonah must
leave Toledo, hide from the Inquisitors, run for his life. (The hardcover version of this book contains a
map of Spain, with arrows indicating Yonah’s journeys.)
Changing his name to something less Jewish, Yonah makes his way west toward Portugal, then south
to Gibraltar, and finally to Saragossa, in northern Spain close to the Pyrenees. He works as a peon in
fields, as a shepherd, as an apprentice to an arms-maker in Gibraltar, where he learns to shape
swords, and finally as a physician’s apprentice. Refusing to convert, Yonah, as Ramon Callíco,
secretly keeps the Sabbath as often as he can, at least trying to remember the prayers his father used
to say. The author has created such a living breathing man, and also peripheral characters, that I was
sorry when the story ended (happily) after years of many adventures and escapes from harm. ISBN
0 312 26504 2 Guest reviewer Holly Morgan
The United States is at war, not only with Iraq, but with most of the developing countries on earth.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you look at it, the wars with second and third world
countries don’t use bombs, tanks and bullets; at least not in the beginning. These “quiet” wars use
economists, boardrooms, banks and information to kill.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins reveals the more sinister side of The United
States’ foreign policy, its implementation and the resulting consequences. In a time when our country’
s foreign policy has taken our fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sons and daughters and
sent them to a foreign land to kill or be killed, it has never been more important to understand the
hidden agendas and events which lead to war.
Readers from all genres will enjoy Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Perkins does an excellent
job incorporating his first hand experience and knowledge into a book that reads like an adventure
novel. Highly recommended! Guest Reviewer Lanai Bayne
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being And Why No One saw it
Coming By Paul Hawken
Blessed Unrest describes a mass human rights movement taking place all over the world. It is taking
the form of 100’s of 1000’s of large and small organizations started by people from different cultures,
regions and economic backgrounds. It has no central ideology. No one controls it. Hawken sees
this non-violent movement as “greater and deeper than we can know”. Rising from the bottom up, it
addresses the problems of the indigenous populations, environmental challenges and social justice.
The author says humanity is starting to realize what separates us is not as important as what unites us
on common, universal grounds. It is about hope, change, energy, love. “We are moving from a world
created by privilege to a world created by community”. Hawken This book is an antidote for our
turbulent times. ISBN 978-0-670-03852-7 Guest reviewer Sabine Exner.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls. Very well written with surprises laying in wait in
seemingly innocent places. Heartfelt story yet hard for me to get through. Pulled at my compassion.
This is the childhood memoir of a woman who now works for MSNBC. Her nomadic family traveled
the desert towns of the southwest, searching for work, food and excitement. Her parents, brilliant and
eccentric, must have lost their responsibility gene long before the author and her siblings showed up. It
is an excellent read, well-written, and the author pulls you right in. Bittersweet. Triumphant. Glad is
was over. ISBN0-7432 4753 1.
Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey. The author, a
famous food writer and actress, leads us through a childhood filled with the tastes and smells of
British, Hindi and Muslim India. Her extended family are the characters of her early years, besides
school and a few classmates. In and around all of this are the foods prepared and served to her family
and the ones others share with her at school and on breaks. Family recipes are included at the end of
the book. A very good read. ISBN1 4000 4295 X.
To Darkness and To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Not the first in her series of mysteries involving
pastor Claire Fergusson and sheriff Russ Van Alstyne. But this was my introduction to this author and
really enjoyed her work.
You follow several townspeople in a small area of the Adirondack mountain range, where
lumberjacking is as old as these New York woods. A woman is lost, search parties are dispersed,
and revenge, kidnapping and assault play their part in the unfoldment. Love underscores lightly while
the mystery intrigues. ISBN0 312 33485 0.
Miguel de Maria
CD. $20. includes s/h. Send email to order migueldemaria@cox.net. www.migueldemaria.com
Excellent Spanish guitar, flamenco in some pieces. All instrumental guitar, some familiar, some new.
Excellent listening experience.
Faith
The news of remission came that day! I remember the sound of the waves splashing against the
pontoon boat, the wind in your graying, handsome red hair…the look of peace on your face, so
angelic, the eagle soaring into the wind, steady above your head…time stood still.
“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up like wings of eagles.
They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint” says Isaiah.
The bonfire celebration afterwards and eight more eagles circled the north end of the lake. It made the
front page of the Sentinel. And two weeks later you were only spirit, free to fly. Like the eagle.
Love, peace, strength are gifts to you and gifts to me.
I miss you but you are not gone. Fly, and one day we shall meet again and soar above the sky!
By Gayle Jaskulke
“To salve the world’s wounds demands a response from the heart. There is a world of hurt out there,
and to heal the past requires apologies, reconciliation, reparation, and forgiveness. A viable future isn’t
possible until the past is faced objectively and communion is made with our errant history. I suspect
that just about everyone owes an apology and merits one, but there are races, cultures and people that
are particularly deserving. The idea that we cannot apologize for former enslaved and first peoples for
past iniquities because we are not the ones who perpetuated the evil misses the point. By receiving
sorrow, hearing admissions, allowing reparation, and participating in reconciliation, people and tribes
whose ancestors were abused give new life to all of us in the world we share. Making amends is the
beginning of the healing of the world. These spiritual deeds and acts of moral imagination lay the
groundwork for the great work ahead.” Paul Hawken/Blessed Unrest.
Let the beauty of what you love
be what you do. Rumi
It’s a gracefully warmish morning in late January. We’ve been in the deep freeze for weeks, some
snow, some ice remnants from a prior month remains. The sun, though of winter’s watered strength,
feels good against my skin and the crows cawing in the background, remind me that I haven’t heard
these dark sisters of mine for awhile. They seem to come alive and greet me as I walk through the
quiet neighborhoods on an early Sunday morning.
No cars nor people have emerged into the busyness yet. Only a lone cat out for her morning
constitutional, like me, crosses my path. She sits quietly near a parked car, a sudden refuge if need be.
I meow to her and give her the option of a pet, but we don’t know each other. So she sits quietly
watching me from the distance I’ve allowed. One ear twitches around and I realize even though her
eyes look toward me, a distant rustling in dry leaves that I suddenly notice, has all of her attention.
As my walk winds down I’m aware of the nakedness a missing tree has created. Where once, even in
the starkness of winter, leafless branches crowded for room, now there’s an emptiness. Broken paint,
leaf piles and windows are suddenly exposed to a noticing eye and unlike the camouflage once
provided, now stand revealed.
How like our own nakedness that, at an unguarded moment, reveal us to others in our blessings and
our curses. How like the cat is my own solitary meanderings whether in early morning or day-to-day
life. And how like this mirror the cat provided, do I attempt to listen to other rustlings while I walk a
seemingly mundane path.
Jyoti Wind
Kiss Me with Bliss
Butterflies float effortlessly
between the veils of time
Alighting worlds
seen and unseen
Swimming in the depth
of your salty sea
engulfed in love's majesty
You delight in me
A dolphin's joy
Magic bliss
Kiss me again
The solitude of this once favored
mountain top crumbles
Softening, so softly
thy love speaks.
Megan Braet
There are lines, ropes, tying around me. Struggle against them, flailing, pushing, writhing against them.
Fear rising in my body. More and more come as I struggle spinning endlessly around me…giving up ,
still, as they tie all around. So many covering. I stand still, no longer struggling.
Surrendering till there is no more me.. only lines covering in silence and silky darkness. So many lines
that there isn't light. It actually begins to
feel good. Fear drains away. There is only silky darkness in my prison of ropes. Darkness pressing,
squeezing, tightening. I again feel the fear rising through my body but there is no more room to
struggle- the ropes wrapped so tightly around me. So I stand and wait. For what> I don't know . I
don't care. Maybe I will die in this place of tightening darkness . So I die. What else can I do. There is
no room for movement. So I die. I die.
Closing my eyes in acceptance, I die. There is no one, nothing here any more. Aloneness, death is
good. Releasing my fears and worries. I relax
letting death take its place within me . Allowing, surrendering to the death
of myself. No struggle just death quiet death.
Release. No more me. I still
feel it in my stomach. A remnant of fear- roiling, turning and then slipping
away. Then there is the death of me. And so I stand in silky silence,
darkness and feel, accept, the death of me.
Vickie Novak
The continuity of the human species requires a fundamental change in market structures so that they
include and harmonize with longer, slower time frames. The challenge of civilization has changed, and
market must change accordingly. As effective as markets are, they are tools, not reality. Markets
make great servants, but bad leaders and ridiculous religions. Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken.
Jyoti Wind
2635 Mapleton Ave.#9
Boulder, CO 80304
303.541-9106
Wind9106@msn.com
Starshine-galaxy.com
STARSHINE NEWS
Vol. 12, No.2
Winter 2008
www.starshine-galaxy.com
Dear friends,
2008…A new year, a ‘1’ year in numerology…the beginning of a new cycle. What is it we’d like to
set in motion for ourselves right now that will actualize what the next eight years can hold for us.
Pluto will be entering Capricorn (see Astrology Column) on Jan.25 and leading us into a new cycle.
As Pluto has been in Sagittarius for the past decade, it’s job was to breakdown the philosophical and
religious (Sag.) barriers that divide us as humans. And always when excavation begins, there’s a fight
to the death to maintain the status quo.
So now Capricorn’s arena is business/business as usual. Some of our human business practices are
degrading and without honor of those who do the menial work; a superiority of class; an attitude that if
one has money or position one can have anything; creating corporations out of nations and
communities of people; by monopolizing resources and then selling them back to the native peoples
who live there; by making DNA and health a financial commodity, etc., etc.
Pluto, as the extreme mover and shaker (think plutonium bomb) will begin to shake the business tree
and perhaps move people to really examine what they do, and what they support and how they handle
themselves in business transactions. Already I see alternative business practices. Not just green
commodities, but a type and level of interaction that honors all parties concerned. It’s a small faction
yet one that I can see growing exponentially across the globe over the next 15 years while Pluto
makes its way through Capricorn and breaks down the old structures of power over, goal orientation,
and cold objectivity. Replacing it with honor and warmth and true acknowledgment of the human
condition is possible.
Always the optimist! One can only hope…
Blessings,
Jyoti
She who dreamt me into being
called me forth
from the dark night of infinity,
gave me a heart
and free will
and set my spirit feet
into motion
as she whispered in my ear:
“I will be with you
in every breath,
in every heart beat,
in every outline of every cloud,
in the look of each creature,
to remind you of where you are going,
to become like me.
It will take eons of time
and strength of will
and goodness of heart,
yet you will return to me
and do the work that I do.”
Jyoti Wind
Astrological Services
• Natal Chart with Progressions
and Transits $90.
• Composites/Compatibility $70.
• Business Charts $100.
• Children’s Charts $50.
• (over 1yr.-14yrs.)
• Updates $80.
• Astrocartograpy Reading $80.
• Shamanic Journey Cons. $80.
For A While
We have all come to the right place.
We all sit in God’s classroom.
Now,
The only thing left for us to do, my dear,
Is to stop
Throwing spitballs for a while.
By Hafiz
(from I Heard God Laughing by Daniel Ladinsky)
Winter 2008 Astrology Column
January begins with Mars oppose Pluto (2nd) and speaks of an intense beginning to a new year. Keep
your objectivity if you can. On the 6th, trust issues arise. The New Moon on the 8th is a new cycle of
perseverance and challenges arise around personal freedom vs. agreements with others. Unexpected
events on the 12th, and Mercury enters its shadow on Jan.13th. Challenges between Venus and Mars
on the 19th. The Sun enters Aquarius on the 20th and we enter the airy humanitarian freedom loving
sign. The 21st is expansive with Jupiter trine Saturn. The Full Moon on the 22nd brings a poetic cast
of mind, and insights are available. Opportunities abound and values are shifting and changing. On the
25th, Pluto enters Capricorn for the next 15 years (til Mar. 2023). The face of business will change
and transform and the old model may fight for its life. The concept of corporate America may give its
death gasp and what emerges from that fire will change all of us. This is a planetary aspect, not just a
national one, so it’s the collective ‘way of doing business’ that will be undergoing this dramatic shift.
Mercury goes Retrograde on Jan.28th and we begin our journey inward, looking at how much we
walk our talk. The month closes with Mars going Direct on Jan.30th (Retrograde since Nov.14th) and
we begin to bring into our daily lives those particular issues we’ve been working on, especially around
family and health.
February 2nd (Candlemas) has Mercury square Neptune and one questions one’s spiritual beliefs.
Logic and reason are not strong qualities of the day. A Solar New Moon Eclipse on the 6th speaks of
a new round of spiritual understanding. Freedom of communication and a dynamic edge of bringing
truth to daily life are all rolled into this eclipse. On the 10th we rethink what’s really important and on
the 14th we move on our conclusions. Very dynamic day. Feb.18th brings Mercury Direct as we
enter Pisces and we can use our communications wisely and in the service of understanding. The
Lunar Full Moon Eclipse on the 29th challenges us in our places of emotional isolation, where we
suffer alone. There is strength now to change old patters. The equality of all beings is definitely a
learning curve over the next two years. The 24th brings confrontations with authority/parental figures
and challenges us to own our own power.
Feb. ends with Mercury square Venus and a re-looking at what we place value on.
March begins with Mars re-entering Cancer on the 4th. We see our growth and our ability to be more
compassionate and tolerant with family and friends. The New Moon on the 7th pushes us to let go of
old ways of doing things, gracefully. Not everyone is willing, so it can feel like a psychic surgical
procedure. On March 8th expect the unexpected. The 9th is a day to desire clarity amidst the fog.
Venus and Mars are trine on the 16th and artistic creative energies are flying. Mercury has the strength
to say what it need to say on the 18th. The Vernal Equinox on the 20th marks the astrological new
year (0 degrees Aries) and the Sun square Pluto suggests that during this next quarter we are seeing
where we give our power away, and the power struggles that may ensue. We are learning to become
our own power. The Full Moon on the 21st (also Good Friday) has an exact T Cross with Sun and
Moon opposing each other, both exactly square to Pluto…we are challenged to take our power,
embrace it, and help everyone around us to rise into theirs as well. It is one powerful Full Moon. The
month of March ends with Sun square Mars, an aspect that advises not to get in our own way!
Happy Spring!
New Moon Jan.8 4:37AM (MST)
Mercury enters its shadow Jan.13
Sun enters Aquarius Jan.20 6:35 AM (MST)
Pluto enters Capricorn Jan.25
Mercury goes Retrograde Jan.28 1:31 PM (MST)
Mars goes Direct Jan.30 3:33 PM (MST)
Solar New Moon Eclipse Feb.6 8:44 PM (MST)
Mercury goes Direct Feb.18 7:57 PM (MST)
Sun enters Pisces “ “
Lunar Full Moon Eclipse Feb.20 8:30 PM (MST)
New Moon March 7 10:14 AM (MST)
Mercury catches up Mar.9
Daylight Savings begins “
Vernal Equinox/Sun into Aries Mar.19 11:49 PM (MDT)
Full Moon Mar.21 12:40 PM (MDT)
Easter Sunday March 23
Mercury’s Cycle:
Enters shadow Jan.13
Retrograde Jan.28
Direct Feb.18
Catches up Mar.9
Winter 2008 Articles
Rising Seas Threaten Coastal Cities
Cities around the world are facing the danger of rising seas and other disasters related to climate
change. The Worldwatch Institute along with the United Nations predict that Dhaka, Bangladesh,
Buenos Aires, Rio, Shanghai, Alexandria and Cairo, Mumbai, Jakarta, Tokyo and Osaka, Lagos,
Karachi, Bangkok, New York and Los Angeles are in danger of flooding. (Associated Press)
Snakes and Earthquakes
Scientists in China have enlisted an army of snakes to predict earthquakes by using the reptiles’
demonstrated unusual behavior before such natural disasters occur. The director of the earthquake
bureau said, “When an earthquake is about to occur, the snakes will move out of their nests, even in
the cold of winter.” It seems the snakes can sense an earthquake three to five days before it happens
and at a distance of up to 70 miles. (Excerpted from Earthweek by Steve Newman)
NASA: Warming will bring more severe storms to U.S.
As the world warms, the U.S. will face more severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, damaging
hail and the potential for tornadoes. While other research has warned of broad weather changes on a
large scale, like more extreme hurricanes and droughts, the new study predicts even smaller events
like thunderstorms will be more dangerous because of global warming. (Excerpted from an
Associated Press article by Seth Borenstein).
Arboreal Shift
A detailed study of 130 tree species predicts that North America’s tree line will shift northward more
than 400 miles this century due to climate change. There may also be a march of forests into the far
north, bringing sugar maples to the shores of Hudson Bay. Soil conditions, interspecies competition
and other factors make precise predictions difficult. But by the end of the century, the climate in much
of the southern U.S. will not be within the current known climatic tolerances for most of the 130
species in this study,” the analyst said. (Excerpted from Earthweek by Steve Newman).
Army Wants To Use Beam Weapon
According to internal military correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, U.S. commanders
were telling Washington that many civilian casualties could be avoided by using a new non-lethal
weapon developed over the past decade, when there is an uprising and anti-American protest, like in
Fallujah when the U.S. forces landed. Military leaders urgently requested and were denied the
device, which uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up unruly crowds without
firing a shot. It’s a ray gun that neither kills nor maims, but the Pentagon has refused to deploy it out
of concern that the weapon itself might be seen as a torture device.
Private organizations remain concerned, however, because documentation that supports the testing
and legal reviews is classified. There’s no way to independently verify the Pentagon’s claims said
Human Rights Watch in WA.
The Active Denial System is a directed-energy device, although it is not a laser or a microwave. It
uses a large, dish-shaped antenna and a long V-shaped arm to send an invisible beam of waves to a
target as far away as 500 yards. The beam penetrates the skin slightly, just enough to cause intense
pain. The beam goes through clothing as well as windows, but can be blocked by thicker materials,
such as metal or concrete. After 12 years of testing , only two injuries requiring medical attention for
second-degree burns.
(Excerpted from The Associated Press article by Richard Lardner) ARE THEY KIDDING!
Planting by the Moon Phases:
Water and Earth signs are the most fertile, while Fire and Air are more barren and drying.
1ST QUARTER: Plant annuals that will produce yield above ground, leafy kind that produce sees
outside their fruit. Grains, cereals, cabbage, celery, endive, spinach, cukes.
2ND QUARTER (increasing from half to full moon): Plant annuals that produce their yield above
ground, vining. Beans, peas, peppers, squash, eggplant, melons, fruits, chard, garlic, hay, grains, and
cereals.
3rd QUARTER (decreasing from full moon to half full): Plant biennials, perennials, bulb and roots.
Trees, shrubs, berries, onion sets, potatoes, rhubarb, grapes.
4th QUARTER (decreasing from half full to new moon): Cultivation, pulling weeds, turning sod.
Root veggies if moon in a water sign.
Raindrops on treetops,
Drunk from tears of heaven’s song
Rooted in Earth’s womb.
Megan Braet
I was terrified, I wondered just what I was getting myself into this time. I hadn’t trained and here I was
in the Quechua Explorers’ office signing up to climb a 19,101 foot volcano. Renting boots, a pack,
sleeping bag, poles and extra warm clothing, I felt far from what was familiar, but reminded myself that
people - refugees all over the world accomplish much more with much less. These were the final days
of my pilgrimage in Peru – I had swam in the Amazon river, hiked through the wildest jungle, visited
ancient cities, slept on the highest inhabitable island, trekked to the bottom of one of the world’s
deepest canyons and would now climb the highest peak in my life.
The guide, Christian, picked me up at my hotel the next morning and along with Kevin, another hiker
from Colorado, we drove out of the loud, polluted city to the trailhead. I looked up at the looming
journey ahead of me and almost turned back. We were at 11,000 feet and had over 8,000 to climb;
the jeep was still here, I could always turn around. I made up excuses in my head, but more than
anything I felt a deep belief in myself that I could do this. If nothing else I had to at least try. We
loaded our packs on our backs and began. To my surprise, the pace was incredibly slow. Christian
told us, “So many people try to start out fast and end up crawling the final steps, but we will start and
end at the same pace.” It is a lovely metaphor for life - we must pace ourselves, lest we burn out
before reaching our goals. I let this be a time of prayer, knowing that I was pushing beyond my own
self-imposed limitations I found strength and courage in every step. We took short breaks every hour
and before I had the chance to be tired we had reached base camp. Amazing! In many ways it had
felt effortless.
We set up our tents and got in just before the windy, sleety rain/snow began to fall. It was an old tent,
made of Muslin with a weathered rain fly. At one point the snow had collapsed the entire front half of
the tent, the guys re-secured it with extra rope tied around boulders. Again my fear came in, “I am
going to freeze tonight!” After dinner I put on every article of clothing I had and prayed to stay
warm. We were camping at over 15,000 feet and my down sleeping bag had gotten wet from the
afternoon rainstorm. The excuses of why I might not make it to the top played through my mind
before even trying. In the night I found myself suffocating and sweating from all of the clothing.
Laughing at myself, I took off the extra layers and found more comfort.
Finally the 3am wake-up call came. The moon was just setting as we began to hike under the clear
starry sky. It was gorgeous and again I found my strength and passion for life fill me. There was
nowhere else on earth I would rather be. The final two hours were the most challenging. The air was
thin, yet I found it refreshing and easier to breathe than in the smog and pollution of the city. Looking
out over the vastness I thought of all of the women in the world giving birth at that very moment and I
found inspiration fill me to complete this challenge.
Four and a half hours later we found ourselves at the iron cross on top of the volcano! Higher than I’
ve ever been, alive and well, finding strength, grace, courage and surprise. Knowing that my own self-
sabotaging thoughts had almost kept me from this beautiful journey, I made a vow to free myself from
fear.
By Megan Braet
”Although we may need outer authority for guidance at some stages of life, at another we need to
develop beyond these parental figures and cultivate our internal resources, our own ideas, feelings,
intuitions, images and actions.” (The Holy Longing: The Hidden Power of Spiritual Yearning by
Connie Zweig, Ph.D.)
Winter 2008 Book Reviews
Floor Sample: A Creative Memoir by Julia Cameron.
The author of The Artist’s Way, The Sound of Paper, and The Right to Write brings her life story into
print. I applaud her honesty. Her life with drugs, alcohol and nervous breakdowns was lived alongside
her brilliant writing career. Some of it was hard to read (emotionally), a hard life lived, and insight into
the life of a writer and a woman trying to make it through. ISBN1-58542-494-3.
Murder on Lenox Hill by Victoria Thompson. I’m a mystery lover at heart and have really enjoyed
this author’s Gaslight Series. Sarah Brandt, the main character, is a nurse-midwife in late 1800’s
NYC. The wealth and social position of her family frowns upon the trade that she holds, but her
independent spirit, along with a rough and tough police detective, helps her solve murders in the
immigrant laden neighborhoods, where she also delivers babies. A good look at NYC at the turn of
that century. Very enjoyable. (Murder on Astor Place is the first book in the series.) ISBN0-425-
20610-6.
Judith Harrington's historical novel "Letters From Calpurnia, Pliny's Wife A.D. 111 -
113" speaks of an ancient love between a Roman Ambassador and a Roman matron.
Ms. Harrington brings to life, images of Meryamana Eve, Ephesus, Comum, Nicaea and Rome. The
audience is carefully carried through Ancient text: Isis Temple Scrolls, Hebrew texts and apocrypha,
Gnostic texts, The Pistis Sophia, the Virgin Mother's Prophecy Scrolls and the Magdalen's Sayings of
Jesus. In this provocative novel midwifery is explored and the audience learns ancient recipes and
remedies for infertility, anthrax and malaria. An ancient heart beats thru these pages. The wealth of
factual and historical information is profound. This is a good read with a fresh look, for all serious
seekers of the feminine side of the Christian story. ISBN-13: 978-1-4134-8198-3
Guest Reviewer Geraldine Hughes. Thanks!
Writing Prompt: As I look back, the biggest surprise in my life is/was/has been….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Oh thank you god for this most wonderful day
For the blue of sky
For our chance to grope in darkness to remember
How we try
How we grope in the darkness but not completely
You give us light
In the day in our own ramblings amongst each other
In the midst of our darkest illusion you give us sunlight to warm
our loneliness
To remind us we are loved
You remind us in the darkness of night you are still there.
As if to say - in the void of light
Look within
I am always there.
By Bonnie Chung
Dreaming It Was Real: A Childhood Memoir
By Jyoti Wind
‘The boiler was black and about 15 feet tall, a huge belching monster where flames flickered through
the air vent holes. I backed up, so afraid
that I was in the hell of my Catholic school nuns’ threats. The roaring intensified when Pop opened the
giant door and fed large shovels full of coal into that fiery gaping mouth. Flames licked into the room
and I feared for his life.’
$15. +$2.s/h
May all beings be happy.
May all beings know peace.
May all beings be free.
Vol.12, #1
Starshine News
Vol.12, No.1
Fall 2007
Dear Friends,
Recently a mirror was presented for me to look at my behavior in day-to-day life. As I consider
myself a growing being, a person who is attempting to bring my spiritual values into my daily life, I was
suddenly confronted with all the ways I might not actually be doing that.
It’s one thing to hold to ideals. It’s quite another, in the grit of the daily interaction with kids, spouses,
grouchy neighbors, inattentive drivers, and other people having a bad day, to remain who you know
yourself to be at your core.
No, I’m not talking about perfection. That’s a long way off, if ever. I’m talking about how we treat
each other in everyday conversation and situations. Are we too abrupt, unnecessarily rude. Do we
talk down to others/even look down at others we consider beneath us in social stature, while our
ideologies shout out that we know we are all equal. And if this is the premise of our spiritual beliefs,
that we are all one, why are we behaving differently from what we know to be true.
It gave me something to look at in myself, something to work with.
Remember as we near Christmas time, I offer Gift Certificates which make a wonderful gift, as well as
my two books, By Grace’s Edge and also Into the Heart of the Flower… and the Starshine 2008
Calendar. Have a wonderful Holi-day season.
Many Blessings,
Jyoti
Fall Meditation
It’s harvest time.
Look at your life, where you’ve been, the things you have done. Choose one situation and really take
in and appreciate the benefits that this experience has given you. Take it into your heart. Feel your
gratitude. Reap your own harvest.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $100.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
Readings are now available on CD, and by email attachment for those with high speed internet
connection.
I tremble on the lip
of understanding…
ever widening circles
open up around me…
I am left humble
at the vastness
of what I’ve asked for…
Dare I take the next step.
Jyoti Wind
Vol.11 #4
Summer 2007 Editorial
Dear Friends,
I remember meeting a middle-aged woman many years ago. Peacefulness and inner calm just radiated
from her. I asked if she meditated. She replied no, but that she had sat by her mother’s bed for five
years. I felt that the calm and grace she had derived from this experience permeated her cells and her
daily life.
Calmness, serenity, peace, surrender to what is…seem hard to come by some days in this ever-
increasingly busy world. Wherever you can make an in-road, create time and space to just be with
yourself, is worth its weight in gold. These space enrich us in ways that we can see over time, a life
time.
I met Carla Neggers, author of romantic suspense novels, who was appearing at a book signing for
her new book, Abandon. She spoke openly and with humor about the writing process, her own
writing schedule and her life. I appreciated her accessibility and her willingness to share her writing tips
with all of us. Her other books include Cold Ridge, Dark Sky, and about 50 others.
A Special Note:
Sept.11, 2007 holds a certain tragic memory for the collective culture of the U.S. This year on that
date there is a New Moon (Solar) Eclipse, heralding a new cycle of possible healing potential. Since a
New Moon begins a new phase, one could suppose that this Eclipse might set in motion the necessary
healing so that we, as a nation, do not have to carry any further this psychic rent in the fabric of this
nation, that we could move on. It doesn’t mean we forget the losses. That will continue to be a part of
our personal and collective experience and history.
So this Sept. we have an opportunity to create healing and movement in our country. Please do what
you personally can to forward this concept.
Blessings,
Jyoti
Summer Prayer
Oh Mother of mine,
you who hold my cells together
with your binding love,
bind me to the love
within me,
in me for myself,
that never will I wander
into again,
the thought that I am
‘less than’
in any way.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
Readings are now available on CD, and by email attachment for those with high speed internet
connection.
If I am to lay my heart
upon the altar
of surrendering to
that which speaks
with Wisdom’s voice,
and no guarantees
are forthcoming
about anything,
do I really have a choice
when I’m looking at this…
For there is no other
way to go
and still stay sane.
Jyoti Wind
Summer 2007 Astrology Column
July begins with Venus and Saturn together (1st) and asks us to stabilize our trust. By the 8th we are
expanding our personal power. On July 9th, Mercury goes Direct (Retrograde since June 15th) and
we begin the process of clearing up the misunderstandings of the previous three weeks. The 10th
brings a day of ‘live and let live’. The New Moon on the 14th is a new cycle of inner life exploration
and bringing one’s spiritual values to maturity. A push for manifesting your dream is on! We enter Leo
on the 22nd. Mercury catches up and ends its cycle, moving into new territory on the 24th. Venus
goes Retrograde on the 27th (until Sept.8th) and it’s a time of looking at health and diet, beliefs and
values. The Full Moon on the 29th creates an energy flow with high intuition. Balance activity and rest.
We end July with Mars square Saturn, a look at personal energy conservation.
August begins with a day of forming future plans (2nd), expanding existing life philosophies. The 6th
brings Saturn trine Pluto, a day of personal power and the ability to transform and change whatever is
in front of you. Jupiter goes Direct also and we expand our vision of possibility. The New Moon on
the 12th is a new cycle of creativity and trust, and asks the questions: Who am I now; who have I
grown to be? Venus trine Pluto on the 15th and brings as ability to set ideas in motion. On the 19th,
the Sun trines Pluto and it’s a good empowering day. The 21st is a day of strength and goal setting.
We enter Virgo on the 23rd. The Lunar Full Moon Eclipse on the 28th brings issues from the past to
look at again. Relationships are going through a re-evaluation and the energy feels erratic. Use tact
where you can.
September begins with Saturn entering Virgo on the 2nd. Leo’s can breathe a sigh of relief, and now it’
s Virgos turn to take responsibility (over the next two years) for some area of their lives that call to
them, that say it’s about time. Mars and Uranus tell us on the 3rd to be careful, that the energy is
erratic and paying attention helps us avoid accidents. Pluto goes Direct on the 7th (Rx since Mar.31st)
and we bring to our outer lives the changes we’ve been working on. On the 8th, Venus goes Direct
and our values and what’s important to us beg to be included in day-to-day life. On the 9th, expect
thVe unexpected. The New Moon Solar Eclipse on the 11th (see editorial) has expansive energies
available to us to use to our advantage. There’s a caution against extravagance, yet tremendous
healing and transformation are available. The 17th brings a day of catalyst energies; the 18th, poetry;
the 19th, power struggles. Mars opposes Pluto as Venus opposes Neptune on the 21st and men and
women both struggle in their own way toward self-expression. Potential volatility exists. The Autumnal
Equinox on the 23rd (as the Sun enters Libra) poses a theme of trust in relationships for the next
quarter. How one uses one’s personal power is there as well. Sensitivity is high as are effective
communication skills. The Harvest Full Moon on the 26th is a call to action in practical ways, a testing
of intelligence and ideas. Can you bring what you know into a form.
Happy Equinox!
Mercury goes Direct July 9 08:16 AM (MDT)
New Moon July 14 6:04 AM (MDT)
Mercury catches up July 24
Full Moon July 29 6:48 PM (MDT)
New Moon Aug 12 5:02 PM (MDT)
Lunar Full Moon Eclipse Aug 28 4:35 AM (MDT)
Solar New Moon Eclipse Sept.11 6:44 AM (MDT)
Autumnal Equinox/Sun enters Libra Sept.23 3:52 AM (MDT)
Harvest Full Moon Sept.26 1:45 PM (M
Summer Articles
Hormones and Health
Monsanto, as we all know, has genetically engineered a synthetic version of the hormone called
rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, and obtained approval to market it in 1993. Today a
third of American dairy cows are injected with this synthetic hormone.
According to the Center for Food Safety (and supported by a study in Canadian Journal of Veterinary
Research) these cows suffer a much greater incidence of lameness, udder infections and serious
reproductive problems.
Such issues can sometimes translate into human ones. Humans who consume rBGH milk have higher
levels of breast, prostate, colon and other cancers. There are no labeling requirements in the U.S. for
rBGH. (Excerpted from Earth Talk/Environmental Magazine.)
I am a lover of many things - adventure, hoola
hooping, skinny dipping, sunshine and more. But mostly I am a lover of love. For with love, all things
feel possible. With love there is a feeling of safety, of being held when the big waves crash upon the
shore. Of having someone to share the laughter with. Love is blissfull. It heals the wounded cells that
break us open. Love puts us back together. Love comes in many guises, wears many masks and
comes at strange times. But mostly love comes when you beckon, when you open your heart and
soul and lay down your armor.
Megan I. Braet… Moon Cycle Healing
Boulder, CO 80302
www.MoonCycleHealing.com
"Without a doubt the universal is contained in the particular. Every story has inherent worth. Even
knowing this, too many writers are haunted by the question, Who cares? Some never begin writing
because this question, unanswered, stops them cold. Too many of us have given our validation rights
over to others. Someone else (the market economy, the publisher, the grant review board, the
neighbors, readers, a parent) has been given the authority to determine your worth-- through how
much he or she pays you or publicizes you or affirms you with kisses.
The inability to trust our own intrinsic worth is rampant. Perhaps it's because Americans are plagued
hourly with advertising that tells us that we would be worthy if only we had a red sports utility vehicle
with a sun roof and heated seats and a garage to park it in and...Perhaps we are unable to tap internal
wealth because it is countercultural. No one will pay you to pray. An hour spent dreaming in the
woods with pen and pad doesn't count as productive use of time. We are constantly steered away
from our own wisdom and stories toward something elusive we must hurry to find elsewhere.
The 'Who cares?' question assumes writing to be a product, valuable inasmuch as others are willing to
consume it. But writing is a product only at the tail end of a long and arduous process. The writing
process, like any spiritual journey, is worthwhile for its own sake. The only answer to the 'Who
cares?' question that really matters is whether or not you care. Do you care enough to believe in your
story, to invest time in your memories, to work hard, to continue to learn? Do you care whether your
story has a life outside your head? Creative writing of any sort requires care, but spiritual memoir
requires it of our very souls. Do you care enough to seek out the sacred in your story?"
Writing the Sacred Journey by Elizabeth J. Andrew
WiFi
Before Boulderites get all giddy about the city going wi-fi, they should check out the BBC’s new half-
hour documentary on the subject at
http://www.mast-victims.org/resources/video/bbc-panorama-wifi-22-05-2007.rm
To put the phenomenon in perspective, how much excess microwave radiation do you think we’re
allowing ourselves to be exposed to, compared to what we evolved with? Twice as much? Ten times?
A hundred times? Even these levels should give us pause, when we consider that our cells use
microwaves to communicate, our genes are turned on and off by them, they effect the levels of calcium
in our cellular environment, increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, and increase the levels
of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (creating a scenario similar to a low dose of nerve gas).
But how about a hundred million times the levels we evolved with, which is what we’re all exposed to
now 24/7, whether we want to be or not, from current cell phone signals, radar, and other artificial
sources? You can multiply that a few times for anyone with a home wi-fi system, and magnitudes more
for anyone using a cell or cordless phone.
Is this wise, especially when its only purpose is convenience or, especially for children who are much
more vulnerable, entertainment? There are already people being disabled by these levels of
microwaves, who have to cover their walls with aluminum foil or something just to make life tolerable.
Are they the canaries in the coal mine for those who seem content at this point to think the equivalent
of "That canary must be lying down because it’s tired, or maybe it died of old age"? (Letter to the
Editor, Daily Camera, Stan Hartman.)
Book Reviews
The Fertile Female by Julia Indichova ISBN# 0-9660078-7-5.
Book Review by Mary Huron Hunter, Personal Coach, Little Wing Coaching
Helping women trying to conceive find their spiritual path to motherhood.
www.littlewingcoaching.com
For those trying to conceive, especially those who have faced or are facing difficulty, a new book
released April 1 by Julia Indichova, The Fertile Female....How the Power of Longing for a Child Can
Save Your Life and Change the World, may be just what your inner doctor ordered.
This eloquently-written collection of stories, guidance and musings by the author who, at 42,
meditated, imagined and healthfully ate her way to a natural and successful pregnancy, tells of people
who followed their hearts and cultivated their dreams of having a child in ways that reshaped and
redefined how they look at their own capacity for fertility and creativity. Indichova uses powerful tools
and resources to illuminate the sometimes dark and lonely path to motherhood. Facing our orphans,
using guided imagery, deepening our spiritual resolve, listening to our dreams, and committing to
healthful living are all ways that Indichova helps light the way, taking care to emphasize that each of us
must use our intuition and inner wisdom to find the formula that is right for us. She believes that fertility
challenges are presented in our lives to give us the key to the emotional and spiritual door that we've
needed to walk through for some time. Indichova helps the reader understand that these challenges
are not designed to punish or imprison us. Instead, she gently redirects that energy toward a more
compassionate approach, illustrating that difficulty has come into our lives for a magnificent reason --
not as a mistake or a failure of our bodies, but rather an opportunity for our souls to get our attention
so that we may stretch and grow and enlarge our lives.
Included in the book are many wonderful stories of single parents, later in life pregnancies and
adoption.......everything seemingly written with the intention of broadening our view of what it means
to be a mother to ourselves and our children and how each of our unique, authentic journeys are
shaping a new world not only for our children-to-be, but for future parents sharing similar experiences
-- if we choose to connect with the power and magic in that.
Chances are, if you are drawn to this kind of path, your child is already with you and is giving you the
time and space to heal and enhance your life. The Fertile Female just might give you the courage and
the insights to walk more confidently and hopefully toward your baby and the life you long for........one
that is abundant with possibility, free from further suffering, and liberated as a result of your
experiences.
Indichova, also author of Inconceivable, is recognized around the world as a fertility educator, activist
and healer and is the founder of the Fertile Heart community, a global community focused on life-
enhancing approaches to reproductive difficulties, adoption and pregnancy. For more information, go
to www.fertileheart.com. Guest Reviewer. Thank You!
Touch The Sound DVD Evelyn Glennie, a percussionist extraordinaire. She became deaf at 14 but
remained dedicated to the pursuit of music as her primary form of artistic expression. The movie won
the following awards: San Francisco Film Critics Circle, German Filmprize, and Locarno International
Film Festival. It is written, directed and edited by Thomas Ridelsheimer. This film will alter your senses
as you perceive sight and sound in a whole new way. "A mystical exploration of the sensory world as
experienced by a renowned musician. Touch the Sound passionately and delightfully shatters the way
we think about sound. Gracefully guided by Grammy Award-winning percussionist Evelyn Glennie,
who also happens to be deaf, this groundbreaking film opens the door to a world where sight, sound,
and touch magically converge to elevate our everyday sensory experiences." Reviewed by Nina
Shapiro. Thank You!
The Holy Longing: The Hidden Power of Spiritual Yearning by Connie Zweig, Ph.D. In this book,
Zweig, the author of ‘Meeting of Shadow’, looks at the shadow-side of spirituality. From her own
experiences with TM to a perusal of all the groups and sects, she shows that the yearning for the light
and Ascension sometimes masks the dark and shadow side of things. This, then becomes a very
painful initiatory experience with the loss of innocence.
A major awakening is what this book holds. I felt met in my life experiences once again by her words.
I actually could not put this down for very long. It spoke directly to some of my own experiences. This
book will speak to therapists, those on a spiritual path, those dealing with drug and alcohol addictions
and sexual abuse issues. Excellent.
“In the end, spiritual shadow work requires us to retrieve those qualities that we believed were
possessed only by the teacher or priest. When we have internalized them and brought them back into
our own treasury, we will carry our own light. And we will be able to live out a wider range of
archetypes, providing a richer, deeper life. ISBN 1-58542-204-5.
Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir by Elizabeth J. Andrew. As a
teacher of spiritual memoir, the author leads readers through their own lives to notice the details of
memory and how it relates to the human condition. She gives instruction, writing exercises and urges
us to see the everyday as sacred, as food that feeds our spiritual life. ISBN 1-55896-470-3.
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips. The story leads you through the 17th century canals of Venice
while a modern day woman searches for the truth of the courtesan’s secret life at the beginning of the
Spanish Conspiracy. Humor, intrigue, and history intertwine while negotiating the modern day city of
Venice. An easy and delightful adventure. Thoroughly enjoyable. ISBN 1-41652-737-0.
Daddy’s Girl by Lisa Scottoline. The latest Scottoline novel. A great suspenseful mystery in true
Scottoline style. A prison riot creates chaos during a class on justice, and our heroine is privy to a
dying man’s last words. From here the chase is on, amidst bewilderment, false turns and family
squabbles on the sidelines. A great ride. Love her books. ISBN 978-0-06-083314-5.
Yoga As Medicine: The Yogic Prescription For Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, M.D. The
author is a doctor and medical editor of Yoga Magazine, and a yogi himself. His book gives pictures
of asanas/yogic postures for many ailments from Insomnia to Arthritis and everything in between. He
gives the disease overview, scientific evidence and then a specific yoga teacher’s advice and series of
lessons/physical asanas to help. Then the individual can participate in his own healing process.
“Yoga is not a panacea, but it is powerful medicine indeed for body, mind and spirit. Above all, yoga
is a path. The longer you stay with it, and the more heart you put into the journey, the farther it can
take you.” ISBN 0-553-384066-6.
Into the Heart of the Flower: Poetry, Prose and Meditations by Jyoti Wind. Reader’s Responses:
I am so touched and filled with loving energy and healing by your incredible poetry!!! J.M, MN
Your book just arrived in this afternoon's mail - what a wonderful gift, a beautiful thoughtfulness. I
love the cover, and by thumbing through the pages, stopping here and there when a title or word
catches my heart. It seems the ones who have written endorsements for your second (can you believe
it? this is so exciting) book are spot on. It's beautiful, Jyoti, it's so beautiful. P.R., CA
Reading your book/words gives me a sense of community. B.C., CA.
The book is wonderful!!!!! You never cease to amaze me! You have so many gifts!!!!!! I am
enjoying it so much! Savoring each poem. story, ritual or meditation in a new way!!!!! I feel warmly
surrounded and nurtured when I am reading or pondering!!!!! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooo
much!!!!!!J.M., MN
List price: $13.95. My price $10.+$2.s/h.
SHAME
Suddenly I was shrouded in shame. From far away I heard the therapist’s voice saying, “Are you
OK? Where are you? What’s happening?” Silence. My eyes super glued to the floor, every fiber of
my being was turning in on itself. If I was lucky I’d disappear into a spiral of thin vapor never to be
seen again. “Talk to me,” said the far away voice. The burden of shame made it impossible to raise my
head. I managed to lick my lips in preparation to speak. Nothing came out. I don’t know how long we
sat there like this. Finally I whispered, “I think I was incested by my Dad.” Hot tears rolled silently
down my face. “What do you remember?” she asked quietly. “Nothing. It’s just a knowing through
my whole body.” I recoiled from her hand on my knee. “I’m untouchable. Don’t come near me,” I
thought. She was as soothing and reassuring as possible. Somehow we managed to bring this life
altering session to a close and scheduled another for a few days later. My feet carried me out of her
office even though I was in another universe. I felt lost, abandoned, an alien on the planet. Was this
how lepers felt? I was damaged goods.
Over the next few months I pieced together this story. I don’t hold it out as THE truth, only as my
truth. When I was three and four years old Daddy would come into my bed in the middle of the night.
We would play and cuddle like puppies. I was a kinesthetic kid and ours was not a warm, fuzzy
family. I loved the touch and attention. Suddenly Fun Daddy would change into a scary man, cold and
impersonal. This unknown one would touch me strangely and demand that I touch him. The energy,
both his and mine, would eventually surge in a gigantic and overwhelming wave crashing onto the
shore. Then he would quickly leave. Desolated I would rock myself back to sleep in a fetal position. It
was exciting, scary, confusing and painful. In the mornings I had no recollection of the night’s Jekyll
and Hyde events. This allowed me to continue life as usual. Sort of.
I don’t know how many times this happened or why. I do know that it stopped when I developed
Rheumatic Fever as a four year old. I asked Mama once what was happening in my life before I got
sick. She said, “Just the usual.” Then after thinking for a minute she said, “Except you had become
such a nervous child.” “In what way? What’s an example?” “Well, when the phone rang you’d scream
until someone answered it.” I wonder at her lack of curiosity about this behavior.
For a long time I didn’t talk about this with anyone but the therapist. Much later I went through a
phase of needing to tell lots of people. To break my silence I told Loy. As always she was supportive.
She told me that once when she was leaving to go back to Atlanta she hugged and kissed Mama as
usual. When she hugged and kissed Daddy he stuck his tongue in her mouth. This was my 16 year old
best friend!
One story that emerged in therapy was of Daddy bribing me with the promise of cowboy boots I
desperately wanted if I wouldn’t tell. When going through Mama’s papers after she died we found a
letter Daddy wrote to her while he was traveling. In it he said, “Tell Martha that I have the boots for
her.” This along with Loy’s information helped quiet the nagging inner whispering that I’d made it all
up.
Last December when visiting my brother and his wife she told me about three shocking incidents with
Daddy over the years. These involved a nine year old girl, a teen aged friend of the family and a young
woman, all people my sister-in-law knows. I’ll spare both you and myself the details. Even 23 years
after that shameful day in the therapist’s office this new information was a blow. She also told me that
he was never inappropriate with her. I’m happy for that.
It’s hard to explain even to myself how much I’ve always loved Daddy in spite of his bizarre
behaviors. I guess that’s the way kids are. They love their parents even when treated badly. That day
in the therapist’s office I was 37 and Daddy had been dead for two years. I don’t think I could bear
the heart break of knowing this while he was alive.
A previous therapist would often ask, “How long has your father been an alcoholic?” “He doesn’t
drink, never has,” I’d reply. Finally she said, “Are you sure your Dad never drank?” Now I was
curious and asked my brother who’s six years older. He said, “Oh, yeah. He and his friends used to
go to football games and get loaded.” “You’re kidding! How did Mama react to that?” I asked
incredulously. “She wouldn’t let him sleep in the bedroom.” “Where did he sleep?” “In the kitchen on
the daybed.” Immediately I realized that ours was the only family I knew who had a bed in the kitchen.
With my bedroom next to the kitchen I wonder if I heard Daddy one night and went in to see what
was happening. I can imagine my three year old self being intrigued by the uniqueness of the situation
and his wanting to come to bed with me. I wonder if this is how it all started. I wonder if Mama found
Daddy in my bed one night and put an end to it. I’ll never know for sure. I didn’t talk with Mama
about any of it even though she lived for eight years after my “discovery”. I still couldn’t break the
family’s behavior code of don’t ask, don’t tell. Even all these years later I feel like a traitor and that I’
m hurting people by writing this. However, the desire for speaking is now stronger than the family
code.
It took a long time in therapy to quit blaming myself for what happened with Daddy. Because I liked
part of it I thought I’d caused it. Kids tend to feel like everything is their fault because maybe they can
have some control that way. It took even longer to untangle the web of pain and pleasure that got
spun in those night time visits, to be able to stay in my body when being sexual. I now understand the
rages, confusion, insomnia, and anxiety that plagued me for so many years. I know the guilt I felt was
actually Daddy’s guilt. I’ve learned that the old axiom of “that which does not kill you makes you
stronger” is true. I don’t know what caused Daddy to be the way he was. I see it as an illness that
never get treated. I don’t know if it caused him pain. Maybe Daddy’s withdrawing from me
emotionally was his way of protecting me, knowing he couldn’t trust himself. It may seem strange but
in spite of all that happened I know that he loved me.
Someone famous said, “Be grateful if you grew up with adversity because it can make you strong.”
The many hours in therapy and working with myself have transformed my life. I’m grateful for all the
people who have showed up to help me regain the ability to relax and trust both myself and others. I
can honestly say that I feel strong, happy and at peace with this past. To Daddy I would say,
“Although I’ve longed for a different relationship with you, I’m OK. Rest in peace.” (Memoir excerpt
by Kate Guilford)
Write about dreams that came true.
Spend ten minutes and list five things you have accomplished.
Choose one and write about it.
To Go With A Free Heart
You must release each child
that this body has birthed
each having their own destiny,
their own path to walk
in order to go with a free heart.
All the lines of thought
that you focused on each day,
the small problems and concerns
no longer need your attention
so that you go with a free heart.
You must withdraw from your interests,
the paintings, books and gardens
you’ve created and tended
reclaiming your creative fire
to leave with a free heart.
The fields that you’ve studied
the tracks your mind wandered into
discovering, divining, mastering,
removing each mind tentacle
to go with a free heart.
The house you lived in
the family you built and nourished
the friends of your heart, all dear to you,
it is time to surrender them
so that you leave with a free heart.
Those things left unsaid
love not shown and touches not given
or received, yet take memory and feelings,
as you loosen
to go with a free heart.
Seeing the gatekeepers presence
they who help you to cross over
through the veil, empty handed,
full of heart, spirit glowing,
you go with a free heart.
Jyoti Wind
Jyoti Wind
1705 14th St. #371
Boulder, CO 80302
303.541-9106
jyotiwind@gmail.com
Starshine-galaxy.com
STARSHINE NEWS
Vol. 11, No.3
Spring 2007
www.starshine-galaxy.com
Dear Friends,
We come into renewal now. Spring melts the hard winter crustiness of us, thaws out our winter-be-at-
home habits and open us up to more community, be it Spring Flings or Farmer’s Markets beginning to
sell their wares. We want to emerge from our seasonal cocoon and re-enter the world.
As we make that shift, remember, sometimes during out spring cleaning, our packing away or
recessing the winter garb for the lighter spring fabrics, that the letting go of old habits and notions is
appropriate as well.
This is the year of the Saturn/Neptune opposition, (Feb.28/June 25 ’07) so we are in a dissolving
mode. Anything that we can add to the pile of ‘outworn, old, not-needed any longer’ would assist us
greatly.
My son Lanai has recently developed his website for his photography. He’s world traveled and has a
great eye. Enjoy his pictures!
www.lanaibaynephotography.com
Blessings,
Jyoti
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
Spring Prayer
Oh Great Mother, as new life is cradled in your hands, nurtured through your breath, loved within
your heart, cradle me, that I may feel that nurturing amid the challenges of daily life. Take me to your
heart and breathe your life into me, so that in the time of Spring, my own life will feel renewed.
Blinders
So as not to miss
the unexpected surprises
that might find me,
I take off my blinders
and wrap them in red cloth
with owl feathers,
and pack them away
in a box marked
‘no longer useful items’.
I wouldn’t want to miss
one small glimmer
of the scintillating light
of my own resurrection
as the pure white light
of Truth
dawns for me.
Jyoti Wind
Dedicated to:
Robert Galen Chaney
Co-Founder of Astara
1913-2006
Spring 07 Astrology Column
April begins with a Full Moon on the 2nd. Empowerment tempered with compassion is the key. The
ability to bring important issues into manifested form is also part of this moon pattern. Trust issues
continue. On Easter Sunday (8th) the Sun trines Saturn and things feel stable, moving forward with
purpose. The next day, expansion is the key. On the 10th insights are sharp. The New Moon on the
17th is a new cycle of working inwardly. Work on bringing the masculine and feminine parts of
yourselves more closely aligned. April 19th brings a trine of Sun to Pluto, strength and empowerment
come easily. Use your strengths without doubt. The Sun enters Taurus on the 20th and things feel
more grounded, more practical. Earth Day (22nd) has Venus square Mars, some frustration that can
lead to practical action. On the 26th, insights pay off. Trust what you know. At month’s end, on the
28th, Mars conjuncts Uranus and it’s important to pay attention to your energy. Unconsciousness and
rash behavior brings out the accident potential.
The Full Moon on May 2nd is not an easy one. A loose Grand Cross with Sun, Moon, Saturn and
Neptune. Changes are happening and being pushed; old identities are dissolving. Who are you now?
On the 6th, use your insight to look beneath the surface and see what’s important. The 9th brings
chafing with authority. Claim your own. Sun with Neptune on the 12th and questions arise, and on
Mother’s Day (13th) Mars and Pluto are intense, so keep the peace as best you can. The New Moon
on the 16th brings a sense of newness, adventure, yet risk-taking has its price if taken too far, right
now. Even though advice might be hard to hear, it can be a big help. The Sun enters Gemini on the
21st and communications will expand over the next 30 days. May 23rd is a good day for poetry and
spiritual insights. The 24th brings Neptune’s turning inward and deepening your understanding. Also
freedom of self-expression is afoot that day. On the 30th we enter Mercury’s shadow, for it’s next
Retrograde cycle. The Blue Moon Full Moon on the 31st brings out-of-the-blue happenings. Trust
your intuition and hunches. Trust can go a long way right now. Polarities abound. See what you can
do to undo them.
June begins with Mars trine Jupiter on the 4th, a day of abundant energy to move mountains. Great
time for a project. The 9th brings unexpected freedom needs. Keep the parameters wide. The 11th is
a good day to embark on a defined goal. Sun and Neptune play well on the 13th and life feels good.
The New Moon on the 14th brings a new cycle of spiritual understanding. Deal with insecurities as the
arise. A lot of energy with Mars trine Saturn trine Pluto to inspire and get things moving. Spend time
getting to know self, not just others. Mercury goes Retrograde on the 15th in Cancer and insights into
our own nurturance ensues. The Sun oppose Pluto on the 18th challenges all of our power trips. The
21st is the Summer Solstice with Mars trine Pluto…very powerful day! Working with the shadow, the
disowned parts of ourselves, brings us great gifts. Ask into that place before bed, and see what
occurs. Relationships are tenuous, yet speaking one’s feelings is vital. Saturn and Neptune are
opposing again (Feb.’07), still working on the dissolution of old ways. The Full Moon on the 25th
gives some healing opportunities in relationships. Nurturing experiences are available. Take them in
and let them warm you. Happy Summer.
Full Moon Apr.2 11:16 AM (MDT)
New Moon Apr.17 5:36 AM (MDT)
Full Moon May 2 4:09 AM (MDT)
New Moon May 16 1:27 PM (MDT)
Blue Moon Full Moon May 31 7:04 PM (MDT)
New Moon June 14 9:13 PM (MDT)
Mercury goes Retrograde June 15 5:40 PM (MDT)
Summer Solstice June 21 12:07 PM (MDT)
Full Moon June 30 7:49 AM (MDT)
Mercury’s cycle
May 30 enter the shadow
June 15 Mercury goes Retrograde
July 9 Mercury goes Direct
July 24 Mercury catches up
and moves on.
By Grace’s Edge: Poetry, Prose and Prayers by Jyoti Wind. ISBN 0-9788883-0-8 $10. + $3 s/h.
A small volume of poetry and memoir. “I have been reading your book in snatches. I see your
imagery, particularly in your poetry, as sudden and outwardly detached yet observant of the inner
quiet and acceptance of our own deaths. You are painting a picture of individual truth which is what a
true artist usually creates great work from. I like what I have read and appreciate your truthing.” MK,
CO
Spring 07 Articles
Osama bin Warming
Climate change could lead to terrorism, security experts warn
Irony alert: as President Bush dwells on terrorism while barely acknowledging climate change, it turns
out that climate change may lead to terrorism. The consequences of global warming could aggravate
the already-ridiculous divide between the haves and have-nots, put 30 million people at risk of famine
and disease, and create eco-refugees with a propensity for radical action, said experts attending a
climate-change and security conference in London. "Those who are short of food, those who are short
of water, those who can't move to countries where it looks as if everything is marvelous are going to
be people who are going to adopt desperate measures to try and make their point," says former
British U.N. Ambassador Sir Crispin Tickell, whose name knows no equal. Consider: the role of
drought and scarce resources in the escalating violence in Rwanda and Darfur, and a 2002 "letter to
the American people" in which Osama bin Laden villainized the U.S. for refusing to sign the Kyoto
Protocol. Gulp. Excerpt from larger article from Grist.
Red Rain
A mysterious red rain fell in India in the Summer of 2001, containing a strange life form of
extraterrestrial origin, according to a scientist doing extensive analysis of the rain samples. He says the
samples contained bizarre, thick-walled, red-tinted cell-like structures that divide like living cells, but
lack DNA, yet still able to plentifully reproduce in water 600 deg F. He theorizes the particles came
from a meteor or comet fragment that may have exploded nearby. The explosion was heard just prior
to the red rain. (Excerpted from Earth Week by Steve Newmann.)
Bears in Europe, with a warmer winter climate there, are not hibernating.
Baby bottles found to leak chemicals, California may ban them
A new study from green group Environment California: when run through a simulated dishwasher 50
to 75 times, name-brand baby bottles leach the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in levels that have
caused reproductive abnormalities in lab animals. Baby-product representatives call the report
"sensational and biased" and argue that their products meet federal standards, which really is far from
comforting. Feeling un-comforted, California Assembly member Fiona Ma (D) has introduced a bill to
ban children's products containing BPA or toxic plastic softeners called phthalates in the state,
mirroring a current San Francisco law. And a group of experts convened by the National Institutes of
Health will meet next week to review data and conclude whether or not BPA poses health risks to
humanfolk -- but the findings, according to an NIH spokesperson, will "not necessarily" be adopted
by the feds. San Francisco Chronicle, Jane Kay, 28 Feb 2007. Grist.
The End of the Interpreter
Like the dinosaur
the time of the guru
is coming to an end.
To everything there is a season
and this season is over.
The Aquarian Age tells of a golden age,
an age of wisdom and ease,
music and evolvement,
and the end of the priest/guru
as the intermediary
between human and the divine.
The end of the guru
and all who he straps
to his lineage of karma
to all he seduces
into his power
of supposed enlightenment
is at hand.
Even if this new age
brings earth changes
and a new pole star,
we will have
the ear of god ourselves,
without the interpreter
and his own agenda.
Jyoti Wind
Friend...Because of You
I have learned to relax more deeply because of you
And take moments in my stride because of you
I know deep within my heart what love is because of you
And I appreciate the strength in my steps because of you.
Because you came along, I count my blessings twice
And because you came along, new depth exists in all my relationships
Because you came along, I have newfound joy in being in the present
And because you came along, the world is more alive more brilliant.
You taught me the way to really cry and really laugh
And you taught me to go with the surprises in life even when they
seem unbearable
You taught me to pay attention, to wake up and see the butterflies
And you taught me how to forgive the most long-held resentments.
You turned fear into hope
And you turned my world literally upside down
You turned over a new leaf in my life
And you turned my eyes toward the clouds.
I got back my Mother because of you
And my Father’s steadfast loyalty because of you
My brother’s deepened friendship ¦because of you
And more love than I have ever known because of you.
Because you came along, I give my all every minute of every day
And because of you, I have learned when and where to draw the line
Because of you, I listen to my body
And because of you, there are times I just stop so I can hear the
wind whispering in the trees.
You taught me an even deeper understanding of what it means
to take one day at a time
And you taught me to trust with every fiber of my being
You taught me to accept imperfection and frailties in myself and others
And you taught me to sing out loud in the park and not care if anyone
thinks I’m crazy.
You turned what seemed the worst into the best
And you turned me into someone who could ask for help
You turned me into a creature of faith
By Lynne Klaus
Spring 07 Book Reviews
The True Sources of the Nile by Sarah Stone The title of this book is symbolic of searching
the depth of one’s being for the truth of oneself. Anne, an American social worker in Burundi, Africa,
is drowning in the rapids of a love for/addiction to Jean-Pierre, a Paris-educated Burundian cabinet
minister. The Tutsis and Hutus are in an ever-escalating bloody conflict, and Anne (Ahna, Jean-Pierre
calls her) is almost¾but not quite¾relieved when the decision is made for her to return to California
when she gets the news that her mother is dying of cancer. Her heart is in Burundi, and Annie, as her
family calls her, feels ever more estranged from her real self as she deals with the somehow smaller
issues of an individual life and death. The passion between her and Jean-Pierre continues to flame as
the two are torn apart by heritage. Can she go back to a crisis in Burundi? Could Jean-Pierre ever
adjust to living in America?
The True Sources of the Nile is an engrossing, enlightening read, with life, love, and death intertwining
like a writhing boa.
Sarah Stone lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay area. She reported on human rights and
volunteered at the Jane Goodall Institute in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 1991-1993. Primarily a non-
fiction writer, this is her first novel. ISBN 0-385-50301-6
Guest Reviewer: Holly Morgan
The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier. Book One of the Bridei Chronicles. Set in 554 A.D. in the Pict
culture, this fantasy novel brings an historical time frame alive as a young boy is being raised and
curried by an old druid. The old man’s plan is that one day the boy will vie for the kingship of the
tribes. His best friend is a young female foundling of the good Folk, the faerie folk, and not accepted
by the humans. An excellent read of maturation, questing and history. ISBN 0-765-30998-x.
Carla Neggars, author of great romantic mysteries like The Harbor, The Waterfall, The Widow.
On the Threshold: Home, Hardwood and Holiness by Elizabeth J. Andrew. Self-reflective essays on
home, hearth and the sacred aspects of life both inner and outer. The author uses house and home as
metaphors for inhabiting her body and how her spiritual path unfolds. A deliciously quiet book that
feeds you on the inside. ISBN 0-8133-4296-1.
The Sound of Paper: Starting from Scratch by Julia Cameron. The author steps into the struggle of the
writer, the artist, writer’s block, etc. relating all these inner situations to the daily life of living first in
Manhattan and then in Taos, N.M. as she works on her book. Writing exercises at the end of each
chapter. Each chapter is a few pages. Loved this. ISBN1-58542-354-8.
The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life Ed. by Mark
Robert Waldman. The list of contributing authors is stunning. I was entranced by the broad spectrum
addressed here. Loved these essays on frustration, emotions, joys. ISBN 1-58542-127-8.
What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all
within me, and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness; that I myself am the enemy who
must be loved. What then? Carl Jung
“They are the play things scattered on the nursery carpet to train us to play with the big boys.” Quote
about Crop Circles from DVD Star Dreams, produced, written and directed by Robert L. Nichol.
Genesis Communications Corp., Box 888, Gibsons, BC, Canada, V0N 1V0. More than 10,000
crop circles have been documented over the past 25 years. Many of the formations are highly
complex and mathematically perfect designs. Interview with crop circle researchers, farmers and
psychics. ISBN 1-55300-484-1.
Passing
Like she herself
my mother’s generation is almost gone,
taking with them their secrets and sorrows,
their loves, laughter and liveliness,
their music and memories,
heroes, history and times.
Their replies to our unasked questions
will now forever go unanswered;
their examples will diminish in time.
We’ll keep their handwriting for awhile
and hear their voices in our dreams.
We’ll wear their gems and dust their trinkets,
bake their pies and baste their turkeys,
but we know the baton has been passed.
We’ve now become the, the matriarchs,
and the onus is now on us.
By M. Kate Hilsenbeck
“I really don’t want to have on my tombstone the inscription, ‘she was a good duster. ‘ I would rather
write bestseller books or ride a camel across the Sahara than stay home and vacuum.” Shirley
Conran, writer.
Jyoti Wind
1705 14th St. #371
Boulder, CO 80302
303.541-9106
Wind9106@msn.com
Starshine-galaxy.com
STARSHINE NEWS
Vol.11, #2
Winter 2007
www.starshine-galaxy.com
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! May the New Year bring love and understanding to all of us and may the places of
inner work shine brightly in our everyday lives…
I’ve watched the buy-outs of several integritous and fairly pure health food companies over the years.
I’ve learned to immediately stop buying their products, like White Wave Tofu and now Horizon Dairy
Products.
The incentive for the buy-outs is usually greed. The health food industry’s financial return has jumped
to millions and tens of millions of dollars. These industrial/commercial companies want a piece of the
action. Do they understand the basic motivations of the initial creator of that company? No, they can’t.
They don’t think that way. Instead of a core belief in providing people with organic wholesome food
because it’s what you eat and what you feed your family, the new owners think that their chemical-
laden, genetically engineered stuff (who can call it food) is just fine. So, when the buy-out occurs, the
principles go down the tubes. Now it’s about marketing, profit-margins over purity, and stiff
competition in the market place.
There are several articles inside this newsletter that reiterate this very theme. Fortunately there are new
companies and other products coming to the market that will divulge their parent company so that you
know who you are dealing with, and what you are buying. If you’re ever in doubt, go online and see
what you can find out…and see who’s products you are eating!
Again, the gurus, in the early 70’s, told their disciples in this country: Grow your own food so that you
know where it’s coming from and what’s in it.
Blessings,
Jyoti
Meditation of the Child
Take a few slow, deep breaths. When you are ready, picture the small child that lives inside of you
that is a part of you. Bless this child, and surround this child in brilliant White Light. Thank this child for
the gifts of spontaneity and creativity. State your intention for unity with her/him. Relax and just be with
this for several moments.
Astrological Services
Natal Chart
with progressions and transits $90.
Relationship Charts $80.
Children’s Charts (1-14yrs) $50.
Updates $80.
Astrocartography Reading $80.
Shamanic Journey
Consultations $80.
Sliding Scale Available
Why Not Be Polite
Everyone
Is God Speaking.
Why not be polite and
listen to
Him?
Hafiz
Dedicated to Joan Reddish
1936-2006
and
Manfred Rodat
1946-2006
Astrology Column
We begin the new year with a Full Moon on Jan.3 and Venus enters Aquarius. Personal power is
strong and goals can be set and reached. Introspection is important. Try to balance it with checking in
with others. The unexpected is unexpectedly soothing. Mars trines Saturn on the 8th and is a good
day to harness energy and accomplish something. The 13th is a day of intensity. After the 16th, with
Mars entering Capricorn, working hard pays off. The New Moon on the 18th brings a perseverance
and willingness to work for what we want is available now. Be gracious in your humanity. Help out
where you can.
Trust issues arise over the next several weeks. Jan. ends with Mercury opposing Saturn on the 28th.
Notice needless worry and give your mind a focus. We enter Mercury’s shadow on the 30th.
Feb. begins with the Full Moon on Feb.1st (MST)/Feb.2nd (EST). Balancing our inner authority with
the rules and regulations of others in the world is quite a dance. Create nurturing environments for
yourself. The 8th gives spiritual insights and the 10th brings challenges of confrontation. Mercury goes
Retrograde on the 13th in Pisces and we re-look at boundaries, trust, psychic phenomenon and
whether we trust our impulses, our hunches, or whether we blow them off. The New Moon on the
17th says don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify. Weed out and sift through and decide