Venus and Mercury are conjunct right now in Gemini, along with the Sun, and the power of Venus to soften the mind (Mercury) is illuminated by the Sun and offers an opportunity to open the doors to the wisdom of the heart. A sextile from both planets to Mars today helps to activate this opening if we choose to do so. This is a perfect day for the pursuit of bodhichitta, the spirit of awakening in which the Self becomes empty and spacious and compassion fills the heart.
Chiron forms a trine to the Gemini planetary lineup and can assist in this process by opening the chinks in the armor that we build around the places within us that are wounded and fearful. Pema Chodron’s tale provides a beautiful picture for this process (from her book The Places that Scare You:
“When we were digging the foundation for the retreat center at Gampo Abbey, we hit bedrock, and a small crack appeared. A minute later water was dripping out. An hour later, the flow was stronger and the crack was wider.
Finding the basic goodness of bodhichitta is like that-tapping into a spring of living water that has been temporarily encased in solid rock. When we touch the center of sorrow, when we sit with discomfort without trying to fix it, when we stay present to the pain of disapproval or betrayal and let it soften us, these are the times that we connect with bodhichitta.
Tapping into that shaky and tender place has a transformative effect. Being in this place may feel uncertain and edgy but it’s also a big relief. Just to stay there, even for a moment, feels like a genuine act of kindness to ourselves. Being compassionate enough to accommodate our own fears takes courage, of course, and it definitely feels counterintuitive. But it’s what we need to do.
It’s hard to know whether to laugh or to cry at the human predicament. Here we are with so much wisdom and tenderness, and-without even knowing it-we cover it over to protect ourselves from insecurity. Although we have the potential to experience the freedom of a butterfly, we mysteriously prefer the small and fearful cocoon of ego.”
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