If you are looking for retreats and workshops in an unusual setting nestled in far away hills, the East-West Sanctuary could be what you need. The scope and teachings are wide-ranging, mainly Buddhist-based, but drawing on spiritual, philosophical and healing traditions that can be traced back to India, ancient Greece and medieval Europe. It has been evolved with mindfulness every step of the way by its founder Sinhagupta, according to Buddhist tradition but equally attending to the needs of the modern world. The website link appears on the Contact page.

The sign of Sagittarius is choc-a-block this morning with planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto. So one area of your life is going to be reeling with activities and possibilities for new activities, while others may have gone quiet. Whoever you are, whatever Sun sign you are, you’ll be sensing that there’s something important in the offing, with varying degrees of awareness. That is not to say that those who are more evolutionarily evolved will have the edge: it may simply be a question of what has been karmically revealed to you about the future. The Universe likes to surprise you, from time to time. I mean, take a look at last week’s aspects – who would have thought it would be a week of miracles? You may still be marvelling at one, as the Mercury sextile Chiron is still operational this morning. There’s time to get another miracle in before lunch. Also, while you were sleeping, Mars was sextile Saturn, so your unconscious at least was busy making plans. For it’s a New Moon day, and it’s time to breathe, and wish, and then breathe again. Wishes can be particularly global in a Sagittarian New Moon. And you have two more days to practise your Jupiter-Pluto meditations (see my “Jupiter-Pluto Extravaganza” blog). For Tuesday is the focus of the week, or even the month. And Tuesday (11th, for those who haven’t already noted it in their diaries) starts with a square between Mercury and Uranus, possibly even before you’ve retired on the Monday night. Unexpected news, controversial views, freak weather are all contenders for your attention and may even contribute to a sleepless night. Just when you wanted all your faculties about you to concentrate on the main astrological event you’ve prepared diligently for. The actual conjunction occurs in the evening, though it will colour the whole day. If you are doing something important that day, such as chairing a conference in Washington, or attending a funeral in King’s Lynn, then it could be a grand co-operation between the forces of Heaven and Earth if you keep your mind and heart fully open. If you’ve got nothing planned that day, going into inner space could be a phantasmagorical experience. If going into inner space is not your thing, then stay glued to the news and current affairs broadcasts, which could be fascinating that day. And before the end of the day, supporting Jupiter and Pluto in their attempt to add meaning to your life, Venus and Mars form a trine. This could be a big romance story for you or those celebs (watch the newspaper headlines the next morning). But it helps to ground the global energies of the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction into something more personal to our lives. So we’ve reached the morning after…the morning after the Jupiter-Pluto big event, the morning after the romantic leanings of Venus trine Mars…and it’s now Wednesday 12th…time to get your bearings and assess and digest the impact of yesterday, and a good time to take the morning off work. You need to savour the afterglow, pick up the pieces, or finish the washing up. And you’ll be helped by two sextiles today: Sun sextile Neptune (dreams can come true – it’s Panto season, oh yes they can) and Venus sextile Saturn (can you really believe what you see is true? Maybe you can). Don’t be in denial about the importance of events this week. Friday (14th) follows with another sextile, between Mercury and Neptune, another chance to integrate any changed views of reality, and perhaps write or record in some way any experiences you had, spiritual or worldly. It seems heartening and stabilizing that those sextiles turned up when they did. Like the calm turning up after the storm.

As we bask in the significance to the world of Rentaghost veteran and Panto star Christopher Biggins being crowned King of the Jungle (as Jupiter transits his jovial Sun/Mercury in Sagittarius), and we continue to build our understanding of the forthcoming Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (don’t we?) we have two aspects to contemplate this Sunday. First the easy one: Venus is sextile Jupiter which favours reunions and parties and get-togethers. Then the more difficult: Mercury squaring the Moon’s Nodal Axis which encourages us to mentally explore the concepts and ramifications of karma, and possibly put something into words to express that understanding. Tomorrow (3rd) brings a welcome couple of sextiles: first Venus sextile Pluto, a deeper experience than Venus sextile Jupiter (“Now that we have connected on a superficial basis, what do we have to say to each other which will reveal our deeper true relationship?”). Secondly, Sun sextile Chiron which speaks of the potential for the healing of the Soul, so grab some for yourself while it is on special offer. Venus and the Moon create a double act on Wednesday (5th) and so there could be an emphasis on ancient goddesses or modern girl power. It’s a good day for deep massage, tenderly spoken thoughts and gentle gestures. Venus enters Scorpio at 13.29 Hrs (UK time) enabling us to “voice the bodymind” (see the work of esteemed Felicity Cook from my Contact page) or at least to think about voicing the bodymind. At 18.31 Hrs the Moon joins her (Venus, not Felicity) in Scorpio, piling on the emotion and edging us closer to this experience. And then at 19.04 Hrs the two combine in Scorpio, so that is the precise time to down tools and actually voice your bodymind. Any queries, over to Felicity. It would also be a good evening for a girl’s night out or any cultural activities celebrating female composers, authors, playwrights or artists. Thursday (6th) is a different kettle of fish, bringing Mercury square to Saturn. O.K. maybe you overdid it yesterday and now you are suffering for it physically, e.g. hangover, mild headache, stiffness in the joints or all three. Time to pay attention to the physical body in a more mechanistic way than yesterday’s emotional work. So that’s egg nog, paracetamol and glucosamine sulphate. I know, I know – you don’t really like to take such things, but it is a day to bring yourself back to equilibrium the best way you know how, even if it is lying in bed all day or meditating all day. Unless you want to prolong the suffering…or unless you can see that it will lead to greater insight if you do prolong the suffering. More disruption on Friday (7th) with Sun square Uranus, proving it’s really that disrupted time of year when your days are punctuated with Christmas do’s (apologies to Lynne Truss if I’ve got the apostrophe wrong) and Christmas shopping, all causing fraction in our normal routines, and making it more likely that we will lose our keys, mislay our deeper selves even. It can happen at this time of year. So keep an undercurrent of the knowledge of who you really are going at some level: meditate regularly, carry icons, write poetry at the crack of dawn…You’re doing well, you’ve got a handle on the forthcoming Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (haven’t you?), you’ve got a new wish ready for Sunday’s New Moon, and to grace the end of the week with a delicate flourish Mercury sextiles Chiron on Saturday (8th), some icing on the cake providing the means for balancing your health in this run-up to the Christmas period with all its excesses, and helping to keep you sane.

The effects of the Full Moon are now ebbing, and also the fall-out from the square between Mercury and Neptune. There may be a state of confusion this morning, question marks around health issues for instance, and things mislaid. I know that because this blog is delayed this morning for those very reasons (I lost my ephemeris on the way to the blog). Today is for collecting yourselves, and for keeping a careful eye on loved ones…There’s a more serene aspect coming our way tomorrow (Monday 26th) for Venus trines Neptune, and love takes on a spiritual hue: the ethereal and the heartwarming colours of compassion come into play, and some of us take a step towards unconditional love. So keep your heart open today, it will need to stay open to receive those vibes tomorrow. Another aspect occurring today is the Sun squaring the Moon’s Nodal Axis, and therefore the forces of karma too will make themselves known today. Make sure that your concept of karma is a benign, loving one. The Lords and the laws of karma are as just, approachable and merciful as you imagine them to be. They know the blueprints of our sacred contracts. And this week is about spiritual healing and making peace with our lives and the characters that populate them. So a quincunx between Mars and Chiron follows on Tuesday (27th), continuing the theme of healing crises. You will need that heart to still be open (why ever shut it?) and if you received the healing balm of Venus trine Neptune you will also need that lift to do what you need to do mid-week. There needs to be a continuous flow of sensitivity and compassion, and though it can be exhausting, your spiritual sources can feed and replenish the energy, like a figure eight. What else is going on? Well there’s still the large matter of the build up to the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction mentioned last week, and if you want to know more click on my Jupiter-Pluto special. Friday (30th) brings a flat note of Sun square Saturn, with more letting go (acceptance if you look on the bright side, resignation if not). If you are an Oxbridge undergraduate, you’ll just have to prepare to wave goodbye to your new mates for the next 6 weeks and prepare to be received back into the bosom of the family. I’m afraid that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Finally, on Saturday (1st December) Mercury enters Sagittarius, and there is a lot to talk about. You’ve felt the feelings, now it’s time to talk about them. It’s safe to call from your parents’ land line.

Seems like only 1 out of 3 of my blog readers can feel this great conjunction coming on, or half if you count myself. Anyway, I am hoping to answer some of your questions here now. First of all, it takes place at 28 degrees Sagittarius on Tuesday 11 December. The last Jupiter-Pluto conjunction was on 2 December 1994, 13 years ago. Again I am appealing (like a voice in the wilderness) to the diarists amongst you to look at what you were doing then. But if like me your 1994 diary is buried under mounds of more recent diaries, you may need to catalogue and index your diary system. This aspect magnifies and expands what you are creating to its limits. Thus for instance structures and businesses may expand to their potential, but if there has not been enough thought put into issues such as sustainability, the meteoric glow could be temporary. Make an effort to find out what House in your chart this takes place in, so that you can better work with these forces. For example, if your Ascendant is Leo and the conjunction occurs in your 5th House, it may be the culmination or a defining moment in a creative venture. Jupiter-Pluto is not just there for the fear-based images, there can be magnificent breakthroughs if the energy has been handled properly. The best outcomes are about the responsible use of power. On a world level you may find a spectacular bid for power in some corner. In “The Astrological History of the World” by Marjorie Orr she says for December 1994: “Expansive Jupiter crosses power-hungry Pluto in December as Russian troops invade Chechnya.” So whether in your own life or on a wider screen, it is about taking responsibility. If you believe that you create your own reality, then remember that the Universe always says yes to us, especially to our subconscious beliefs. So root out those beliefs, transform them if necessary, and also put out a prayer for what you feel the world needs. Try this Meditational Exercise at home: Hold a question in your mind, centre yourself, then place your centred consciousness within the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. Expand your consciousness from that centre to its furthest limits. You may receive an answer to the question.

…Can you feel it? The gradual pulling together of those two mighty forces of Jupiter and Pluto. It’s an inexorable union due to take place 23 days from now, and deserves its own advent calendar. More of that later and nearer the time, but it’s a grand backdrop to the more minor astrological events of this week and even the build up of the tension to the Full Moon at the end of the week is incomparable. But it’s good to compare, and contrast, and distinguish that influence from the Full Moon build-up. So see if you can keep the difference between those two events clear in your mind and your psyche as the week progresses, then as the Full Moon ebbs away next week you may be able to see that what is left is the continuing build of those two planets awesomely coming together. Unless they fall on one of your House cusps, they will be creating a huge inflation of one area of your life at this time, and the outcome will be spectacular one way or another (whether it’s a gunpowder plot or a chocolate fountain), especially for you Jupiterians and Plutonians out there. If you have strong elements of Scorpio and Sagittarius in your birthchart, then your own sense of your individuality will be strengthened. Mercury makes the most noise this week – yes, that’s Mercury of verbal chatter fame. Those of you with strongly Mercurial tendencies just won’t be able to stop talking this week. Perhaps you’ll be the commentators for the Full Moon and Jupiter-Pluto builds in the grand design of the week. Babies born this week, incidentally, will be high on intelligence and trying to babble coherently from the outset. If you like silence on the other hand, you may have to silently intone your favourite chant if you are so inclined, or go more powerfully and directly into your own inner stillness so that even someone else’s interepretations of the current energies will not deflect you from your own spiritual pathway. Tuesday (20th) brings the first of these Mercurial mumblings or rumblings, with Mercury trine Mars occurring virtually at the same time as a square between Venus and Mars. It’s a triangle really, with Mercury semi-sextile Venus. Mars and Martians will not be able to rain on Mercury’s parade for although Chiron squares Mercury, Mars is still quincunx Chiron and it’s quite definitely Mercury’s week. Those who are accustomed to solving problems with playfighting or fisticuffs need to hone their verbal fencing skills and get with Mercury this week for a spot of witty repartee. Geminis and Virgos on the other hand, will re-affirm that the pen is mightier than the sword and be empowered to tell everyone about it…”Hey you guys, did I ever tell you about the -” “Yes”…Cue for the silence-lovers to start chanting or withdraw within to that place where inner chatter does not shatter…What of the Venus-Mars element? The Martians may try the touchy-feely line instead of going straight to the mental plane, but may find that the touchy-feely is misinterpreted or not appropriate. Then they will have to progress to the mental plane (there’s nowhere else to hide this week, except for the depths of your being). Now take note Aries Lynne Franks, who tried to introduce meditation to the jungle and is being mercilessly ridiculed for her New Age habits on I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. Having set the scene for this week more meticulously than usual, I will try to zip through the rest, knowing that the attention span will be getting edgy. Wednesday (21st) sees communication at its most brilliant due to Mercury trining Uranus. Thursday (22nd) sees Sun enter Sagittarius, and on the Scorpio cusp it will give you a chance to sense the combination of energies between the rulers Jupiter and Pluto. Again, can you feel it? Saturday (24th) is a crescendo bringing a stationary Uranus prior to turning direct (the element of the unexpected begins to show its more constructive hand), the Full Moon in Gemini opposing the Sun in Sagittarius (again the emotional power will be with the narrators of life), and finally towards the end of the day a square between Mercury and Neptune. It’s the final choosing meltdown between the chatter and the silence, the inner and outer experience of both. And thrice I say, can you feel it…?

Mercury enters Scorpio on Sunday 11:11 Remembrance Day, which is most appropriate for remembering what is deep and significant, and people who were important to you in the past and those you never knew who were important to somebody…This is followed on in emotional vein in the early hours of Monday (12th) by a square between the Sun and Neptune representing the veil between worlds and the veil between reality and illusion. It’s time to go gently with yourself if you have memories to sort through, as we all do. It’s rare to come across a soul who is totally living in the present. So it’s a wallowy sort of week, until we get to Thursday (15th) when Mars turns stationary prior to turning retrograde. So after going back in memory, we may now find ourselves backtracking in our actions. Mars has been forgeing forwards for so long – nearly a year – we may have forgotten how to backtrack. Or we may have convinced ourselves that with our new philosophies we don’t need to. What do we need to re-do in our lives? What paintings need touching up? What novels need knocking into shape? Think back to mid-September, for Mars goes all the way back to the position it was in then, until it turns direct again in late January. So you have about 6 weeks to re-do the last 2 months, basically. Don’t be excusing yourself the exercise on the grounds that you didn’t keep notes! Use your e-mail inbox which you probably haven’t cleared in that time (unless you are super-efficient) to keep track. And buy yourself one of those delectable notebooks from Paperchase to use for next year so that you can at least negotiate the retrogrades. For me, by the way, it was about a book half-finished…And Friday (16th) brings just the aspect to complete your organization: Mercury sextile Saturn. As I’ve said before, if ever there was an aspect perfect for filing that was. You can have some tidy conversations with it too. And for those ahead of the game, if you’ve got some spare time for some extra homework, expansive Jupiter conjuncts powerful Pluto in December, so that’s something to be working on…

There’s an interesting three-way interplay between the Sun, Mars and Chiron today. I say interesting, but another Astrologer might use a more descriptive and revealing word if he or she had time to think about it. If you early-birds catch the blog before lunchtime you will find out that it’s a good time to start a jogging routine or any other physically active project, such as catching up with a backlog of jobs. You can put the fire and enthusiasm on to stoke and the momentum will take you through the day, so you could end up feeling you’ve been quite productive, especially if you are a long-distance runner. However, Chiron is also in the mix, squaring the Sun and quincunx Mars (sounds worse than it is), so there may be a hidden healing agenda orchestrated at Soul level. This may manifest as a healing crisis, e.g. half-way round the half-marathon you’ve set yourself (do the maths) you could sprain something. How you deal with that will teach you something handy, like a miracle natural solution, finding the right herb in the right place. Deep-outs await on Tuesday (6th) for relationships come under pressure with Venus squaring Pluto. It’s a pressure to be real, a deeper questioning when close up. If you’re not ready to communicate that honestly, some distance could be created between you while each person retires to their own inner process. Artistically or musically there could be blockages, or discord at band practice (especially if it’s newly formed and hasn’t weathered a few Venus-Pluto squares). If you are an artist starving in a garret, it’s a toss up between buying salad leaves or that cobalt blue pastel. After all that, you should find Wednesday (7th) refreshing as it will allow you to give vent to all your originality and inventiveness and create a fresh take on stale problems. Sun trines Uranus that day and out of the blue your intuition can present new choices to you. Suddenly you realize you got out of the right side of bed and can finish that painting using aquamarine instead of cobalt blue, and eat the cress which sprung up on your window sill overnight instead of a supermarket bag of salad. In fact the cress may have even fewer calories, as there is more prana between them stalks. Thursday (8th) holds even more possibilities: Venus enters Libra and Mercury sextiles Pluto. So more harmonious conditions for the aspiring artist, and perhaps more commissions. More importantly, there is profound communication and dialogue going on which could help clear up some of the personal issues from earlier in the week, but is more likely to be applied outside of relationship issues. If you are undertaking a course of study for instance, you may find that you are inspired in your essay to give the tutor more than they bargained for in terms of psychological insight in say a sociological question. The answer may go further than the question. And all this builds up to a New Moon in Scorpio on Friday (9th) which favours starting new regimes generally, but in particular forgeing deeper relationship connections and understanding more deeply the body-mind connection. So faites vos jeux for the next roll of the moon dice.

Announcing the Now – a new category of astrological service which is actually an existing sub-category of the Year Ahead service, but could be handy for some. It’s a very short report of the planets as they are now in relation to your birthchart. This could be valid for up to a year, and can be requested with or without the Year Ahead. If you have a Year Ahead forecast, the personal descriptions of the planetary influences will take precedence over anything which appears in the blog by the way: you can use the blog as an indication of how others around you may be experiencing the prevailing conditions, and the Now as a background pattern, scenery or stage set (depending on how much of a diva you are). Pricing appears on the Astrology page. Having taken to heart some of your comments lately, I felt that maybe you needed this clarification. That, and Eckhart Tolle has got a lot to answer for!

Have another cosy lie-in this morning, unless you’re having to negotiate those Sunday transport services again, still under the Mercury retrograde influence…Happily though the end of this particular rail tunnel is in sight, as Mercury turns direct later this week. If you are having a meditation session today, an appropriate subject would be social relations on some level. There’s an awkward square between Venus and Jupiter tomorrow, which could result in men behaving badly and possibly some women too. Social intrigue is another hazard of this aspect, and those paparazzi will be hounding someone again. What one person thinks is funny may not be to another, and so on. So today’s reflections need to be along the lines of: are you being motivated by jealousy, can you be more charitable, does someone deserve the way you are thinking about them? Some soul-searching can nip this in the bud and iron out the problems in advance, then the effects of the square can be confined to minor faux-pas or even some comic incidents. You might find yourself saying: “A funny thing happened on the train home”. But if you are returning to work tomorrow, you may have trouble slipping back into the groove of the office culture, although the biscotti you bought them, plus the miniature Empire State Buildings to ornament their workstations might help matters. All this of course is academic and trivial next to the important aspect which occurs on Tuesday (30th), namely Jupiter sextile Neptune, which some of you may have allowed yourself to look forward to. It happens in the early hours of the morning (UK time) so sweet dreams, and interestingly is bolstered 16 minutes earlier by another sextile between Sun and Saturn, ensuring seriously constructive purposes and outcomes. Jupiter sextile Neptune is about peace and goodwill to all men and women, and religious unity, so any efforts in those areas will not go unrewarded even for the likes of Richard Dawkins. If you are astrologically savvy, you may be able to identify which two areas of your own life are affected and working in harmony for your own inner peace and in your wider ideals. And if it’s just not happening for you that day, just take time out in your lunchbreak to meditate or walk in nature to help it along. Wednesday 31st (Halloween) brings the first of two turnarounds: Neptune goes first stationary then direct and further strides can be made on the spiritual or mystical path. On Thursday (1st November) Mercury goes stationary prior to going full steam ahead, and we can in all confidence buy our season ticket to ride. But hang on – so why are engineering works on the line continuing on a Sunday into December? I don’t know, but maybe we will take them more in our stride with our new mystical mellowing. So by the end of the week, with Chiron, Neptune and Mercury all recently turning direct, we will all at least know where we are going. Next question?