Part of Us Has Moved

As of a couple of days ago, I created a new blog called Hamida the Herbalist, which can be found at hamidatheherbalist.blogspot.com . It was time to do it. Soon I will be creating a separate blog for astrology. That way, those who want those specific topics won't have to wade through the rest of it. To make the transition sweeter, I'd like to offer sweets. An offering of chocolate. Take the test and see.

You are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

I'm am totally loving this blog stuff!

It's that Mercury Retrograde Thing Again

After the previous posting, I realized that I used an expression "dying before death" without sufficient explanation. I assumed (and you know what that means) that it was "self-evident". Sorry. Of course, as with all spiritual teachings, there are a number of ways to explain it. The way I understand it is this: that it is much like the Hindu and Buddhist ideas of non-attachment. Be "in the world, but not of it." Participate in life to the full extent, but know that there is more to life than what you perceive with your five senses. Do your duty, but do not be attached to the outcome (Bhagavad Gita)
Carlos Casteneda's Don Juan said to see Death as an advisor. Live as if you have all the time in the world with the knowledge that you could die any moment. If you knew you only had six months to live, what would you change about your current life? Sometimes our outer circumstances may be impossible to change, but we can always change our attitude about them.
In other words, be unattached to the things of this world, learn to let go (eventually we have to let go of everything, even our bodies), and come to know the spiritual realm while still in this world through connection with God, The One, The Source, Unity or whatever you call it.
And as Sponge Bob would say "Good luck with that!"

Acceptance: Transmuting Loss to Gain

Haven't posted for awhile because I was focusing on getting ready for All Things Herbal, an herb fair and sale benefitting the Herb Exchange, in Sebastopol. Made three new products. Bottled, wrapped and sealed for days. Made clever new labels and informational sheets. Made handouts for my astrology business. Then woke up with the worst lower back pain I've had in years. Could hardly move. Was not able to go because I knew I was incapable of unloading the car and setting up my canopy and tables, or lugging all the boxes of product. Oh, was I disappointed! Hopefully those who showed up as a result of the 100 emails I sent, were at least happy with the rest of the event.
But then I realized that this disappointment was an opportunity to practice acceptance. Acceptance of what is. One of the most powerful teachings of Sufism is one referred to as "dying before death". While its meaning may be self-evident, its practice is both difficult and rewarding. In this instance, it was a letting-go of "my plan", and submitting to the reality that I could not walk, let alone "lift that bale". Although on a much smaller scale and hopefully short-lived, my temporary disability reminded me that many people every day all over the world, are faced with major changes in their lives due to sudden illness or injury. Death itself often comes suddenly and with no concern for what people may have hoped to do on a particular day.
My disappointment was followed by guilt, shame, and self-judgement that went something like this: "If you had done.... if you had not done..... you always xxxx things up..... why can't you get your xxxx together", etc. I listened for a couple minutes then realized that this was not constructive. With Saturn conjunct my Ascendant right now, self-criticism is highly available. I called a friend who had invited me to her grand-daughter's birthday earlier in the week and told her that since I was not able to do the herb fair afterall, could I come to the party.
So I went and had a delightful time. It was an interesting group of people, mostly adults since Maya is only 1 year old. She lived her first year with her paternal grand-parents in Tunisia and is becoming a tri-lingual child. Throughout the day, we spoke 5 languages (I love this) and the complete tree of Abraham was represented (I love this too).
We all got along although we sometimes did not share eachother's beliefs or opinions. And we said "why can't the world be like this?"
So a day that started out as a loss, turned out to be a gain. All because of a change in attitude. A turning point where grace allowed me to reframe my thinking.

Mercury Retrograde Again

Mercury went retrograde on May 27 in Gemini and since my Sun and Uranus are both in Gemini, I am really getting the effects. Plus we had a New Moon in Gemini conjunct my Sun and Uranus is squaring my natal Uranus. My birthday was on the 30th and here's what happened: 1) I got an email from a man I dated 34 years ago and don't ever want to see again, but my current boyfriend, who is in Mexico right now, totally forgot. 2) I got a phone call from a woman whom I've known for nearly 50 years, but none of my current friends called. 3)I got locked in my 4 year old Lexus and had to crawl over the console to get out of the passenger side, then after I got it fixed, I backed into a concrete wall (nothing happened though), 4) I finally cleaned the outside of my microwave and after setting off all the touch buttons, it broke - moral: never clean things (I like that).

Yesterday, after spending many hours doing blog stuff, I decided to make several separate blogs, each focusing on one thing, but, is it a good idea to do that during Mercury Retrograde? Probably not. So, I will wait until June 20, when it goes direct again. The message for me is to slow down rather than going along with the impulse to speed up. Mercury, as messenger of the gods, brought information to human beings. As a god of trade, I think he is especially significant for the Internet, which is fast becoming the way people do business. More and more, people are finding ways to make money on the Internet. Honestly, though, I wonder just what it is they are selling. I find some blogs to have no content on them whatsoever.

When I go launch separate blogs, one will be on Astrology, another on Herbalism, and I will keep the one I have now that is considered a mixed bag. Sort of like me.

For an affordable astrology reading see the many reports I feature on the astrologer page of my website

It's Lavender Season

If you have never used lavender in cooking, here are some ideas and recipes to try. It is important to use organically grown, culinary lavender for obvious reasons. There are some types of lavender that taste "soapy". Make sure you have one that has a more "floral" or "fruity" taste, especially if introducing lavender-laced foods for the first time, to family and friends who may already be skeptical. Basically, there are three ways to use Lavender in cooking:

1. Lavender Sugar

Leave lavender in sugar for 1 week, strain and use sugar in other recipes

2. Lavender Infusion

Steep in water, oil or vinegar, then used infused liquid in other recipes

3. Lavender as Dried Herb

Substitute in recipes where you would normally use herbs such as
Rosemary or Thyme

Easy Recipes:

Lavender Lemonade
Lavender Lemon-Ginger Dressing
Lavender Roasted Beets
Lavender Roasted Potatoes
Lavender Scones

Lavender Festivals occur all over the country. A couple of them that I know about are:

Here in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma Lavender will have its Lavender Festival Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15. It's a small festival put on by one grower, but I've been going for years and I always learn something new. That's where I had Lavender Lemonade for the first time and it was sublime. It not only refreshes, but relaxes you. You feel like you've had a glass of wine, but no alcohol so no need for a designated driver, Ha! ha! I do make a Lavender Rosemary Cordial, which contains vodka and brandy, but that's another story.

The Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington is huge. I hope to go up there this year.

In Sequim, Washington, the Lavender Festival will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 18, 19 & 20.

Thank you George Lucas

I have not had T.V. since 1994. I live in an area without cable and so the only way to have it would be to get a satellite. Since I don't want to watch enough to make it worthwhile to pay for the service, I don't have it. Instead, I rent DVDs of movies or series that interest me. Besides, in all my adult years of T.V. watching there were few shows that I really liked. Mostly, it was passing time. One of my all time favorites was The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which didn't last long (most of the time the shows I liked lasted 1 season or less before they were pulled). Due to the fact that a fourth Indiana Jones movie was about to be released, I was reminded of my fav show and wondered if it was available on DVD. YES!!! and for sale at that. I purchased the 3 volume set and have been enjoying it ever since. In addition to the episodes (most of them I never got to see) there is an extensive amount of educational material. This is a set of DVDs you can't miss. Entertaining and educational, it covers the early part of the 20th century including history, scientific breakthroughs, art, music, social life, inventions and so much more. Historic figures like Lawrence of Arabia, Ataturk, and others are featured as well as the discovery of Tut's tomb. A must see and should have, this is the best series that was ever on T.V. in my opinion. So much of what is going on in the Middle East today is the result of what occurred after the end of WWI and this series and the special features, goes into this in detail. Eventhough the series originally came out in the mid-90s, it is totally relevant today, because of current political events. Since the fictional part of the story takes place so long ago, it is timeless. Lucas must have spent a mint making this series. It is beautifully done in every way: locations, costumes, acting, content. I can't praise it enough. This is what T.V. should be. Thank you George Lucas!!!

Sedna is Calling to Us

Back home from Denver and UAC. So filled with inspiration and information, it will take me awhile to digest it all. The talks that I was most affected by were by Melanie Reinhart, Demetra George, Steven Forrest, Baris Ilhan (from Turkey)and Donna Cunningham, among others. Not possible to have seen them all since there were over 270 sessions and many workshops and other activities. So incredible to be with thousands of astrologers for five days.

A talk by Barbara Schermer, on Sedna, a sea goddess, and her placement in the charts of environmentalists, was very interesting. Sedna's message: "act to save the planet or get ready to leave it". We should all be stewarding some aspect of nature. Transformation through water is a major theme of Sedna's story, as is the value of learning to save yourself rather than expecting anyone else to do it for you.

Throughout the entire conference, I heard no doom and gloom. I heard a lot of encouragement and hope. The final panel discussed their predictions regarding the next president, based on their reading of the charts of the candidates, election day and inauguration day. The complexity of the readings and the high level of the analytical skills of the panelists impressed me. I couldn't help by see how intelligent they are. I thought "how could anyone, even a scientist, walk in here and not acknowledge that these astrologers are serious scholars?"

There were wanna-be astrologers there, too, and their enthusiasm was infectious. People were totally turned on by the experience. As for me, I had healing moments, made "vows", met many new friends, and reconnected with friends made at other conferences.

I spent some quality time with Kim Marie from Evolutionary Astrology. I am looking forward to the upcoming segment "Health and Wellness" will take place in South Dakota in the last summer/early fall.

If you're interested in purchasing an astrology report, a reading by me, or want to purchase astrology software go to my website. You can also purchase software by going to the graphic link at the bottom of this page. Matrix offers many user-friendly software packages as well as software for Tarot and other types of oracles.