This week we are blessed to meet another Auntie, and actually I am just getting to know her myself, so you can enter this journey with me…cj or Auntie Moon hosts an informative Astrological website and blog, and is one of the co-ordinators of the 1st International Astrology Day Blog-a-Thon starting tomorrow, which  “brings together a collection of helpful, insightful and informative articles on handling the challenges of Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and the cardinal t-square”  according to her blog.  Her answers are sparkling and intelligent, and she comes across as serene, perceptive and modest  (I wonder if she’ll let me say that…?)  As the Numerology Editor for All Things Healing www.allthingshealing.com she is content with being number 6.

Lana:  I often think Astrology is a giant hologram where each person can start at a particular point and explore infinitely.  I have the impression from reading your blog that your interests are multifaceted, you have the Astrology, the Tarot and the Numerology, and you have two names…Is there any sense that you see yourself as a specialist within Astrology?

Cj: My interests are multifaceted, but I don’t consider myself a specialist in any particular system. Blending the symbolism of the three different systems reinforces each system’s message. For example, when looking at a tarot card I see not only the imagery on the card but draw on its astrological associations, as well. I also associate numbers with planetary energies, which acts as another dimension of the symbolism. It’s been my experience that a tarot reading often reflects the energies that are activated in a person’s natal chart or transits. Using the systems together is not unlike the “rule of three” in astrology where we look for a symbol three times in a chart reading.

Numerology is a beautiful system. It reminds me of the board game, Othello – “a minute to learn, a lifetime to master” because of its initial simplicity. That simplicity becomes a camouflage for the depth numerology actually has. It’s not unlike sun sign astrology. The primary symbols soon reveal themselves to be incredibly complex and multi-layered.

I used to make birthday gift books that included a delineation of the natal chart, numerology chart, and the tarot cards associated with the major planets. I became less and less surprised that a natal chart and numerology chart carried similar themes for a person, and that those themes were so beautifully executed in the tarot’s imagery. It’s why I refer to my posts on the tarot as the Astrological Picture Book.

I can spend six months immersed in one system, six months in another, and then switch to something else for a period of time, all the while learning as much about the other systems as the one I was immersed in at the time. That’s probably not a good way to become a specialist, but it satisfies my hunger for symbolism and connections.

Lana:  That has answered a lot of personal questions for me in regard to Numerology and Tarot, and given me a new regard for both.  You do give out a real zest for Astrology.  What do you think people are missing if they don’t have Astrology in their lives?

Cj: As long as people have a sense of wonder in their lives, they may not be missing anything. Astrology is only one of many ways to access that sense of wonder. It might be easier for me to answer by turning the question around, “what are people gaining by having Astrology in their lives?”

First, they are gaining a symbolic language, poetry. In its most basic sense, Astrology is the language of the seasons, light and dark, a connection to nature—the elements, temperaments, the night sky, and worlds beyond our own. We learn that we really do revolve around our sun, and that it takes more than 365 days to make that journey. It takes a lifetime.

We are able to explore the patterns of life that go beyond the rites of passage that most people only know as sweet sixteen, becoming of legal age, midlife crisis, or retirement. “She turned 30” becomes “her first Saturn return,” or “he completely lost it,” might mean Uranus opposed his Sun. Those terms speak volumes to the astrologer who can see the cycles unfolding in a life, like pages turning in a journal.

Astrology gives us a look at our own star map, a guide for the journey. But it never loses its sense of wonder because it’s never completely predictable. We may have the map, but we’re explorers in an unknown territory. We don’t have all the details—the peculiarities, histories, and desires of the people who travel with us, the turns we take along the journey, the cultures we encounter, the victories and defeats, pains and pleasures—all of those give a dialect to the language. That’s what makes it poetry.

Lana:  That’s breathtaking,  cj.  My next question is: What is your relationship with time, and how important is it to you?  We hear there’s no such thing, and it is important to be in the Now, and it seems different in Mayan Astrology.  I have kept a diary since I was 15, and it has been a precious resource, and it seems to me that for a Western Astrologer, time is a stock-in-trade.  Is this a silly question?

Cj: No, it’s not silly at all. No pun intended, but it’s a very timely question because you’re asking it during a period when there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough of it. It is important to be in the Now. Eckhart Tolle brought that idea to the general public with his bestseller, “A New Earth,” a book that was a great influence on me. I do try to stay aware of the present moment, but there’s no denying that time exists and that it slips away. I’ve never worried too much about the years passing, and only as I’m nearing my late 50’s have I thought about it much. A lot of people look at time through the lens of regret and that makes me sad. It seems the future holds so much more potential than the past, even as we age.

I’ve never been disciplined enough to keep an ongoing diary, but have a great admiration for those who do, because we can forget the details of our lives so easily. Journaling can be quite cathartic, and I do tend to quasi-journal when I’m sorting things out, but it’s usually on little snippets of paper that I come across months or years later. The time when they were written comes rushing back and so many feelings are revived. Those memories are so vivid they take on a 3-D quality. That could be the reason I never committed to journaling—the memories were too vivid.

Blogging and forums are journal-like, and a fantastic tool for astrologers. We talk about current aspects and the effects we find in our lives. Other people add their experiences. It all happens in real time and then—poof—it’s a part of our history. We didn’t have access to that scale of real-time sharing until the Internet arrived on the scene. I think we’ll really appreciate it as time moves on.

There are two lessons I’ve learned about time that I try to keep in the forefront of my mind. A teacher once said that we could change our past simply by changing our perceptions of it. I try to embrace that, but it can be incredibly difficult to make that kind of change. The other is a piece of scripture, “This too shall pass.” Maybe the best anecdote to time is patience, sort of a homeopathic remedy.

Lana:  I have found that Jupiter in Pisces has made it easier to work in a deeper way.  Is that how you have found it?

Cj: Jupiter’s entrance into Pisces has certainly coincided with a time when I’ve found myself more deeply immersed in work than usual. Its entrance in January also signaled the beginning of my research for the IAD Blogathon, so I’ve been exposed to a lot of websites that may have taken me much longer to discover without the intense focus of the research. I’ve met some people who are true experts and amazing teachers, definitely Jupiterian figures. It has already expanded my horizons. 12 years ago, Jupiter was also in Pisces. That’s when I first started writing about the Moon for a monthly Moon group. That year holds some of my fondest memories. I wouldn’t mind a rerun of that kind of energy. It was lovely.

Lana: Astrologers vary in how much they use Chiron, and I wonder to what extent you do use it and how you experience your Chiron in Capricorn if this is something you have a sense of.  Also, taking the astrology aside, how would you describe your Inner Healer (which may, or may not, be the same thing)?

Cj: I have minimal experience with the asteroids, so I don’t have a good sense of it in my chart. I know Chiron indicates a wound, and that it’s a healing point. It’s also in my 12th house. An astrologer once told me that it was a beautiful placement so I didn’t pursue it. I’m a firm believer that sometimes we just need to let the mystery be.

I don’t really know how I would describe my inner healer because I’m not sure I’ve actually gotten a grip on it yet. I think I heal most when I stop talking and thinking and start listening. That opens a lot of doors to understanding. I’ve found that help has always arrived when I’ve needed it most. There are messengers who come when answers are needed. They’re real people—bank tellers, random phone calls at the office from a stranger who needed to tell a story, poets, and grocery baggers. They’re all around. I just have to be receptive and hear the message. They’ve always been there and they make the path smoother. Solitude is a great healer. Listening within.

Lana:  Thank you for persevering with the Chiron question.  I thought as many of the interviewees have this placing, the answers collectively might tell us a great deal of how it plays out in people’s lives.  Here’s my next question: Your website is called “Auntie Moon”.  How important is the Moon to you personally, and in your work?

Cj: Oh, Lana, the Moon is everything to me. She represents so much, and I wouldn’t have the joy of this work I love without her. She represents hope, romance, grief, love, longing, and the ever changing cycle of our lives.

I was one of those kids who laid out on the hood of the car at night and looked up at the sky dreaming of possibilities, what ifs. I fell madly in love with the Moon and stars then, and they’ve always been in me even if they’ve been eclipsed by other things that stole my attention for a while. So my journey started with wishing on the moon and has led me to looking for her in every part of life, in the details. I can see the zodiac signs represented in so many things just by tracking her on God’s heavenly clock–everyday things that we take for granted, but that bring us little pleasures.

She opens the door to understanding on a level that truly touches the heart. It is that gorgeous hide-and-seek playing Moon that makes it all worthwhile to me. She helps me find the divine.

Lana:  Your words really carry the reader with you. My last question is about Numerology. Do you find any disharmony between Astrology and Numerology or do they dovetail when you work with them?

Cj:   No, I don’t find any disharmony, at all. As a matter of fact, I’ve found that our personal numbers naturally dovetail with our natal charts. It’s an amazing thing! You might think that two different systems would carry different themes, but there is a repetition that I find downright mysterious. It’s not cut and dried, though. A person may have a strong Capricorn Moon and be born with a Life Path of 1, both associated with leadership or the desire for it. The Capricorn theme may be repeated with a name number of 7, which can indicate a tendency for withdrawal. A Libra might have many 2’s in their personal numbers, just the right amount, or a complete lack, all of which bring forth the themes of partnership and the need for balance but with a different emphasis on the lessons to be learned or taught. It’s never the same—which is what I mean by cut and dried—but there is always a reciprocal support between the two systems.

What this dual symbolism means to me is that there is a rhyme and reason behind the mysteries of life. Math really is the universal language. Everything can be reduced to a series of digits, whether it’s our DNA, the programming that allows us to talk to each other over the Internet, or the composition of the stars. It’s far from meaningless. Opening to these mysteries and allowing the subtleties to reveal themselves is what it’s all about for me. It’s about discovery and connection. Numerology, tarot, astrology, and the search for spirit–and finding it in the tiniest things–have opened many doors to the wonders that surround and bind us together. It’s the grandest adventure I’ve ever taken.

Here’s cj’s website link:

http://auntiemoon.wordpress.com/

And be sure to get the most from the Blog-a-thon:

http://auntiemoon.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/international-astrology-day-blog-carnival/

Date: Mar 18th, 2010 · Comments RSS · Tags: Interviews