otterspaceastrology

WISH UPON A STAR — PAST LIVES IN YOUR CHART — PART ONE

Good evening dear Friends and Readers, Past life readings have always been a subject that fascinates me.  Even as a very young child, I was an avid student of history.  By the age of 10 I had read every biography of all the kings and queens of both England and France.  My Mother heard me speaking French in my sleep at an even younger age.  Why?  For the record, I am neither French nor English by heredity.  By the time I was 9, I was almost obsessed with the Roaring 20’s and as an adult I have had recurring dreams of the same apartment on the East Coast with all the old fashioned décor and furnishings.  Mozart started composing at 4 years old.  Why?  Why do some people come into this life with talent and expertise while others struggle just to learn the basics?

To me, the explanation is heredity on both the biological AND the spiritual level.  It’s natural that someone born into a family of teachers might choose the same career path — their heredity and their childhood environment would support and nurture that choice from an early age.  But the world is full of examples of someone who doesn’t fit the family pattern yet finds their calling at a very young age.  To me, the explanation of Mozart’s gift is that he must have spent many lifetimes studying, playing, and perfecting his music and so he came in with a whole lot of experience under his belt.  So maybe he picked up where he left off….

Year ago I read an interesting book about hypnotic regressions to past deaths and what happens on the other side before we come back.  Can’t remember the name of the book, but the author was Michael Newton.  He wrote about one of the last things we do before returning to earth is work with our own guides and teachers and clues are implanted, we are given clues  to help us find our way.

Another interesting book is “Feelings, Buried Alive, Never Die” and this book takes the opposite premise and explores programming in our DNA of our cells 7 generations back.  Can’t remember the author on this one, but she confirmed my own beliefs about biological heredity, saying our thoughts, fears, issues, belief systems, etc., as well as talents,  can come through us from our ancestors, seeking resolution in our own lifetime.  This book was spiritual, but not religious, though I wondered at the time if the author might be LDS since she spoke of redemption for our ancestors and that particular church conducts baptisms for their ancestors. At the back of the book is a helpful list of physical ailments and the psychological affirmations  to clear them, similar to Louise Hay’s book “You Can Heal Your Body”.

I think Louise Hay is fabulous and very inspirational.  For those of you who are not familiar with her story, after a very difficult youth and young adult life, she was diagnosed with cancer and the Doctor gave her 6 weeks to clear it before beginning traditional AMA therapy and she did it!!!   Hay House is the publishing company she founded and there are many books and tapes available about healing.

Naturally, with my own interests, I began studying and reading about past lives at an early age.  I found my life’s work at 19 and for many years I have sought to help others find their way in THIS life, because this is the life that matters.  Early on, I started looking for clues to past lives in other peoples’ charts in order to understand why certain events and/or ordeals were manifesting.  I use astrology as a jumping off point for my own intuition.  I hear things, feel things, see things, but when I tell the client I differentiate that part from astrology.  Still, there are clues in natal charts and I will share them with you.

Astrologers like to argue about the North and South Nodes.  These are mathematical points, not planets, actually from ancient times;  the Latin names are the Dragon’s Head and the Dragon’s Tail.  Some astrologers see the South as stagnation and the North as growth.  I see that as too simplistic; we  can’t just write off the South Node as stagnation, as is there is nothing of value there. Others say the south shows career skills we have already mastered and the North shows what we are learning now.  That is helpful but I think there is more to the story.  My own view is the South Node shows where we come from (our past) and the North shows where we’re going —  the overall spiritual intent of THIS life.  Depending on the aspects to those Nodes, we can see if the South is challenging, comfortable, etc.  and again looking at the aspects to the North, if there are big ordeals to face or if things come a little easier for the person.  It is truly fascinating to find one person’s planets conjunct another’s Nodes in comparison work.  To me there is a great comfort in knowing that one life with our loved ones  is NOT all there is.  It doesn’t take away the grief we feel when we lose someone, but it does offer hope.

Some years  ago I did a lot of past life regression work. I attended workshops and learned how to help others find those clues.  There is an old phrase…”The wheels of the Gods grind slow but exceedingly fine…”  Ultimately, there is perfect balance in this Universe.  We are all ultimately responsible for our thoughts, words, and deeds.  My own goal is to leave this world with less karma than I came in with…none of us is perfect or we wouldn’t be here.  The point of studying the past life stuff is to make sure we’re fulfilling our contract and balancing out any errors from our past.  Make no mistake — it is NOT a “play now, pay later” plan…

I remember one of the Edgar Cayce books mentioned that some of the worst  karma was accrued by people who sat in the Roman Coliseum and laughed at the pain and torture of others.  Conversely, one of the best kinds of good karma is when we help others, particularly strangers where  there is no sense of obligation like there might be with family ties.  Kind of like Oprah’s random acts of kindness…

Anyway, back to the Nodes.  One of the best books you could buy if you are interested in this part of astrology  is Donna Van Toen’s book about the Nodes.  It is a small and simple book, packed full of solid info and it is a great jumping off point for your own meditations on your chart.  I think I said early on in these posts, that taking any point in your chart as a meditation will bring you great insight.  Trust your instincts.  I have great faith in the intuitive process — people know far more than they give themselves credit for…

So try meditating on your Nodes, both North and South.  Ask for dreams to clarify.  Keep a notebook or a digital recorder handy by your bed.  Pay particular attention if your dreams contain elements not of our current society and culture — different buildings, clothes, shoes, etc.  I have a book called “What People Wore”, a history of clothing from ancient times to modern that includes all the accessories, too.  A most valuable resource for tracking this stuff down…

I am busy with clients right now but when I return we’ll take a look at charts from my files and what they tell us about the Nodes regarding karma, growth, career path and overall spiritual intention and aspiration.  Feel  free to volunteer your chart data if you want a look at your Nodes in the next couple posts…Blessings, Jenae