On My Way to UAC in Denver

Getting ready for my trip to the United Astrology Conference "Rockin'the Universe: The 2008-2012 Cycles of Transformation", in Denver, Colo. This is going to be a huge one. Then when I return, I have a booth at "All Things Herbal" in Sebastopol, Sunday, June 15. Currently working on a new line of products - flower essence blends specifically tied to working on Pluto issues. You know Pluto - the one they just demoted from planet to planetoid? Interesting that just before Pluto entered Capricorn, where he may well see the transformation if not the total demise of corporations, some group of 'scientists' decides he's no longer a planet. As if that would change the power of the god of death and transformation. Ha! Anyone who has undergone a Pluto transit (who hasn't?) knows the power of Pluto. You may not have known that's what it was, but if an astrologer looked at your chart, you may have learned about it in retrospect. Among the values of astrology is finding out when these things are about to occur or are occurring so you know what to do to make the most of it. Then, when your world turns upside down you have a little objectivity about it. One of the services I provide is plant-based products to assist you on your path of transformation. In the spirit of Evolutionary Astrology, I am developing a Pluto Essences Line. More than one - twelve to be exact, to address the issues particular to the house placement of Pluto.

La Corazon

Here I am in Mexico again. This time to help Glenn with surgery. We are actually in the small town of La Cruz Huanacaxtle at the north end of Banderas Bay where Glenn and La Sirena (his schooner) are in the La Cruz Marina. The town is named for the cross at the center of town made of huanacaxtle wood. It is the perfect place to have heart-related surgery, because being here as a gringo, one sees just what is missing from the culture we come from - The Heart. Despite the fact that these people are being invaded by the new marina (which is being built to dock 500 boats thus nearly doubling the population of the town); the new condos going in; the hotels that are being planned; they are gentle, smiling and caring for us, the strangers that will soon ruin the town. Glenn has been here 4 months and already the locals know him and care about him. When they saw him with his arm in a sling, they asked what happened and seemed to really care when they heard the answer. Children walk freely, unafraid. Their faces are open and innocent. They smile at strangers as if they were family. I feel like an alien sometimes, not because of the way they treat me, but because of my own lack of humanity. More and more expatriots are moving here from the States, Canada and Europe. Will we bring our sickness of the heart with us too? Or will we instead entrain to their hearts which in the long run, are stronger than ours.

To the Land of Quetzalcoatl

I'll be going to Puerto Vallarta New Year's Day .
for about 10 days. Glenn and La Sirena (his sailboat) made it down there after a not-so-auspicious start. His engine pooped out just a few miles out of the Golden Gate and he had to be towed in to his first stop at Half Moon Bay. After spending a day driving up and down the peninsula in my car to find parts (good thing I have one - he got rid of both of his vehicles prior to leaving), he was able to fix her and get her going again. Since then it's been smooth sailing.
Now he's in Puerto Vallarta and I'm flying down for a few days. A welcome change from the near freezing cold we've been having here. We will probably go to Guadalajara for a couple days and another small town he stopped in on the way down the coast and loved. Just finished reading 2012: Return of Quetzalcoatl. Interesting "coincidence" that I'll be going to Mexico. The book really got me thinking. Autobiographical at times, scholarly at times, the author is clearly on a search for meaning and purpose. Lots of information and a great bibliography. I'm taking the crop circle thing more seriously after this book.
In fact I'm developing my own theory about many ancient sites like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid after reading this book. Another "coincidence": I finished the book and two days later got my latest copy of Archaeology Magazine with the cover story about Stonehenge! Daniel Pinchbeck writes extensively about his experiences in England visiting the ancient sites and crop circles that appeared while he was there. Like Pinchbeck, I have pursued many paths and done a great deal of research on seemingly strange subjects (not to me, but to my family). I have wondered from time-to-time why I have done this. Certainly not to make money, because until now, I have made very little from these pursuits. If anything, what I was learning made it harder to live and work within the current system because I could not perceive any "magic" or "soul" there. I felt called, led by the information itself like following a pied-piper. Pinchbeck writes a lot about how our concepts and structures of time affect the way we think. Since I studied for a doctorate in Mayan Studies many years ago, I was curious about this book because I dreaded one more wacko book on the Maya. To his credit, he includes the wacko and the academic (which to some, may be even more wacko). Perspective changes everything. He asks many questions and gives answers from many points of view without dictating any solution. He does give a convincing argument for both the need for a change of consciousness and the evidence that the change is occurring. My website: www.wisewomenofthewest.com continues to evolve.

May in Morocco

Early last May I went to Morocco with a group of herbalists, herb growers, massage therapists, healers, and producers of herbal products. We visited spas, healing retreat centers, herb farms, herbal doctors and even a rose oil distillery.

Here’s our tour leader having a healing footbath. It was inspiring to me since I also grow medicinal plants and create my own herbal products.
I discovered ingredients used traditionally in Morocco, but still not well-known in the United States and have been making my own products with them. Watch for a link to my website where you can find out how to get them.
We also did some of the usual tourist things like ride camels (I love camels). How could anyone ever say that camels are vicious? Isn’t he the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen? We visited the historic kasbah Ait Benhaddou, where they recently filmed a movie.

Did you ever see goats in trees?
Here they are eating argan fruit.

A wonderful oil is made from the nut inside that is used both for cooking and skin care. Whoever came up with the expression “a hard nut to crack” must have been talking about argan. We got to try cracking them at a women’s collective.

Thanks to the French I learned in the Peace Corps many years ago, I was able to talk to the locals. One afternoon, I was talking to the young man who works at the hotel desk. He asked me why, at the height of the season, there were no Americans, besides us, at the hotel. “We built this place especially to cater to American tourists and you’re the only ones here. Why aren’t Americans coming to Morocco anymore?” Part of me was surprised at his naiveté. “You really don’t know why?” “No, not at all. We love Americans.” I felt so bad telling him that to the average American, all Arabic speaking people are the same. Most people think they are all terrorists. Even some of the people in the group I was with were so on edge about something happening, that every normal setback or misunderstanding (common while traveling anywhere) was seen as a deliberate attempt to upset and derail us. He was so sad to hear this. “But don’t they know that Morocco is completely different than that? We don’t want fanaticism here.” “No they don’t know that,” I replied. He said it was my job to tell them. This was my second trip to Morocco. I loved it so much the first time that I wanted to pack up my life and move there. This time was no different. The focus of this trip brought us to more rural areas than I experienced last time and we had a chance to meet and interact with lots of people. I saw how I could live there and perhaps that will be part of my future.